Don’t extol Maoists: CM to opposition

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reaffirming that the government was not responsible for National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the Pantheerankavu UAPA case, in which two young CPM workers were taken into custody for alleged Maoist links, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the opposition of trying to ‘extol’ Maoists for political gains.
It may be their past practice that prompted the opposition to accuse the government when police slapped UAPA provisions against people taken into custody for unlawful activities, he said on Tuesday.
“It’s not in consultation with the political dispensation that police decide what particular provisions and acts should be invoked against people taken into custody. There is no truth in the allegation that the government wilfully handed over Pantheerankavu UAPA case to NIA,” he said.
Vijayan said as per the provisions in the NIA Act — passed by the Centre when P Chidambaram was the home minister — the agency can take over cases on its own. “State consent is not required to take over such cases. NIA took over the case even before the case came under the scrutiny of a committee, headed by retired HC judge, that ascertains whether police decision to evoke UAPA provisions against the accused were correct or not,” he said.
The chief minister was replying to an adjournment motion notice by IUML leader M K Muneer to discuss the fresh crisis that Allan Shuhaib and Twaha Fasal face following Kannur University’s decision to oust them for want of mandatory attendance. Muneer said the opposition was not interested in a discussion on who promulgated UAPA or who set up NIA.
“The chief minister should specify what evidence made Kerala police arrest the youngsters. The role of NIA came only after the state police slapped UAPA on them. It’s said that some literature was seized from them, this includes a copy of CPM’s party constitution. Police claim the boys were under surveillance for the past five years and Allan had written pro-Maoist slogans when he was a class IX student. This is absurd,” he said.
Muneer asked the government to evoke 7B provision in NIA act, that gives a chance to bring the investigation back to the state police.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala echoed the demand only to be ruled out the chief minister who said the case could be handed back to the state police only if the Centre agreed to do so. “Do you mean that I should go to Amit Shah with a request letter? There seems to an insatiable quest to justify Maoists in a bid to hit the CPM,” he said.
Opposition exited the house after the speaker denied permission for the motion.