CPM condemns deportation of anthropologist to the UK

Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM in Kerala on Friday condemned the deportation of anthropologist Filippo Osella to the UK from the international airport here by saying the action was taken without giving any reason.

CPM State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged that the Immigration authorities acted on the directive of the Central government and demanded an explanation from it.

"It is learnt that the airport authorities were not ready to explain the reason for his deportation or inform him about it. The ban, imposed by the immigration authorities as per the central directive, is unjust," Balakrishnan said in a statement.

Osella, also an academician now into research on traditional fishing in Kerala, was deported soon after his arrival here on Thursday.

"He (Osella) was refused entry," a top Immigration officer at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in the airport said without giving further details.

Balakrishnan said Osella arrived to attend a seminar.

The CPM leader said the academician has been associated with Kerala since the 1980s and said the general public should be informed about the issue raised against him.

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor too criticised the deportation.

In a tweet, he said, "Intolerance takes many forms, but deporting a respected scholar with no explanation is a particularly petty form of intolerance."

"Our government persists in shaming us before the world. This decision should be reversed, apology issued & Osella invited back", he wrote on the microblogging site.

(With inputs from PTI)