KL This Week: LDF Govt Launches 'PRIDE' Project for Training Transgender Community for Jobs

NewsClick brings an important round-up from Kerala during the week, including the opposition to the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) proposed by the union government, a protest condemning the inaction against Manipur violence, the decision to provide training and jobs opportunities to the transgender community through the newly launched 'Pride Project'. 

UNIFIED OPPOSITION TO UCC

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led union government has initiated discussions about the UCC, with the general elections due in less than one year. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and opposition front, the United Democratic Front (UDF) have opposed the union government's move. 

In a detailed statement, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the move as a political plot of the BJP. "This can only be seen as a plot to enforce their majoritarian agenda of 'One Nation, One Culture' by eliminating our nation's cultural diversity,” he said. 

While demanding a focused approach to modernising and amending the discriminatory practices in several personal law boards, Pinarayi Vijayan demanded the union government and the National Law Commission withdraw from the efforts to impose UCC. 

The CM referred to the 2018 commission recommendation, which stated that 'the UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage'.

The Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have also condemned the move while announcing a protest against the BJP government. 

MOVEMENT AGAINST MANIPUR VIOLENCE

Political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations led protests across the state against the union government's inaction in ending the violence in Manipur. The Catholic churches and affiliated organisations have condemned the violence in Manipur and attacks on churches. 

Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany of Thalassery, who offered to help BJP win seats in Kerala if a Minimum Support Price (MSP) is fixed for rubber, compared the violence in Manipur to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Several heads of the churches have questioned the silence of prime minister Narendra Modi.

In a protest held on July 1, Mar Joseph Perumthottam, Archbishop of Changanassery, questioned the BJP-led government's claims to counter China and Pakistan but failed to prevent violence in a small state. 

The BJP, for electoral gains, have been trying to appease the Christian population in Kerala, but the violence and inaction in Manipur have resulted in a setback for the party. 

UPLIFT OF THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

The LDF government, to ensure jobs to the members of the transgender community, has launched the 'Pride' project through the Knowledge Economy Mission and the Department of Social Justice.

The project aims to ensure the participation of the marginalised community in the Knowledge Economy sector. The chief minister launched the program as part of the third 'hundred days program' of the LDF government. 

In the first phase, the government has identified 382 interested candidates from the community with higher secondary qualifications for training and making them prospective employees. Another set of 1,628 candidates would be selected for training. 

"The government is committed to ensuring all the civil and human rights of the transgender community. Through this project, the community can eliminate unemployment, project themselves in the society and ensure social recognition,” Pinarayi Vijayan wrote on Facebook.

The government has aimed to provide employment to 20 lakh people by 2026, including an assured job for the transgender community. 

DEMAND FOR ENDING STRAY DOG MENACE INTENSIFIES

The efforts of the LDF government and the Local Self-Governments (LSGs) to control the stray dog menace are facing multiple hurdles, as animal rights activists and central legislations prevent the control measures. 

The Department of animal husbandry has identified 170 hotspots establishing shelters for capturing and relocating violent stray dogs.

Though the state government has initiated several steps to end the stray dog menace, around 1.37 lakh, people have received treatment in various hospitals for dog bites across the state between January and May 2023.

Most recently, the Kozhikode district panchayat has decided to join the case in the Supreme Court (SC) against the increasing stray dog menace. 

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has joined the 2019 case in the SC, published data on stray dog attacks on humans and other animals, and sought a facility for confinement or culling stray dogs to reduce the incidents.