The Lakshadweep administration has rejected an application from eight MPs who are part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) formation in Kerala to visit the islands, media reports said on Tuesday. The visit was planned as protests continue in Kerala and Lakshadweep over the reforms proposed for the islands.
The eight MPs were Elamaram Kareem, V. Sivadasan, A.M. Ariff, Binoy Viswam, M.V. Shreyams Kumar, K. Somaprasad, Thomas Chazhikadan and John Brittas.
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Last week, the Lakshadweep administration denied permission to a group of Kerala MPs from the Congress on the grounds their visit would "disturb" the atmosphere on the islands and could result in a surge in COVID-19 cases. MPs Hibi Eden and T.N. Pratapan and Congress leader C.R. Rakesh Sharma were barred on the grounds that their visit "appears to be a political action".
In June, Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem had shared on Facebook a letter to the additional district magistrate of Kavaratti, seeking permits for the delegation of MPs to visit Lakshadweep.
The Left MPs had sought to visit Lakshadweep in late May, but were asked by the ADM to postpone their visit. Kareem wrote that it was the right of the MPs to visit any part of the nation where their presence was needed.
