Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who earlier came under fire over police charging two youths under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), on Saturday, said that the duo who have been arrested are not party members but are Maoists.
"The two of them are not party men, instead they are Maoists," said Pinarayi in a very strong tone, clearly giving out a message to all his detractors, that his position from the beginning was right.
The two students of law and journalism, Alan Shuhaib and Thaha Fazal, both full time CPM workers, were arrested on November 1, 2019 from their home town in Kozhikode. The police recovered leaflets that supported the Maoists movement besides condemning the Union government's action in Jammu and Kashmir, from them.
The developments had created a storm in Kerala.
Those who opposed the arrest criticised Pinarayi for giving the police a free hand, while those supported the police action said Islamic extremists have been backing Maoists in Kerala.
The arrest of the students also invited criticism from the top leaders of the party including CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, politburo members Prakash Karat, M A Baby besides state CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran.
The leaders came down heavily on Pinarayi and asked him to revoke UAPA charges.
But all through Pinarayi stood his ground.
On November 27, the Kerala High Court went with the prosecution's observations and denied the accused bail after going through the case diary and also the digital evidences that the police had placed before it, to conclude that giving bail at this stage, might hamper the ongoing investigations.
The two youths are presently in judicial custody.
Two weeks after the duo's arrest, CPM Kozhikide district secretary P Mohanan stoked a controversy when he said Islamic extremists have been supporting Maoists in Kerala. "Kozhikiode-based Islamic extremist outfits are providing them support. They are encouraging Maoists and take them along," he said at a public meeting in Thamarassery on November 18.
Many social activists took serious objection to the statement. Among them was social critic M N Karassery, who said CPM has the habit of labelling people, who the party does not like, as Maoists and terrorists.
When the controversy threatened to go out of hand, Mohanan clarified that he did not cast aspersions on all Muslim organisations, but only on the Popular Front of India.
