Lakshadweep ‘black day’ greets Patel

KOCHI: Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel arrived to a ‘black day’ protest on the island on Monday.
The protest by parties and organisations was to oppose his reform measures on the island. Patel arrived at Agatti in the afternoon commencing his week-long visit, sources said.
Soon after reaching, Patel met top administration officials and reviewed the progress of various development projects.
Meanwhile, activists of Save Lakshadweep Forum, a platform of various parties and organisations, observed a ‘black day’ by wearing black masks and raising black flags atop their houses. Lakshadweep MP P P Mohammed Faizal said, “Democratic values are the highest tenets of our Constitution and any attack on it will be fought against by SLF.” This came even as three office bearers of BJP’s Minicoy unit on Monday resigned from the party citing “unfortunate public circumstances” in the UT. In the letter to Lakshadweep BJP chief Abdul Kader Haaji, the officials, including the president of the unit, H Ibrahim Thithige, said they found it “futile to continue further” in BJP.