Kerala CM terms two young party activists as Maoists

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who came under fire for having people with Left-wing extremists in the party, on Saturday, said that the two youths who have been arrested by the police are not party members but are Maoists.

“The two of them are not party men, instead they are Maoists,” said Vijayan 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, Allen Shuaib and Thaha Fazil, both full time CPI-M workers, were arrested last month from their home town in Kozhikode, after the police recovered leaflets that supported the Maoists movement besides condemning the Union government’s action in Jammu and Kashmir, from them.

CPI-M leaders Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat came down heavily on Vijayan after police arrested the two youths and charged them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

But all through Vijayan 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.