KOCHI: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has demanded that the arrested Maoists should be treated as political prisoners and opposed the move to make the daughters of Roopesh and Shaina parties to the case. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, he expressed solidarity with the Maoists for taking up people’s issues.
“They should be treated not as terrorists, but as activists who deal with the issues of common people. If the home department has any plans to question the activists of human rights, environment and RTI under the cover of Maoist hunt, it would be strongly opposed,” he said.
In the first declaration of support for the Maoists from any political party in the state, the CPI leader asserted that any move to make the daughters of Roopesh and Shaina parties to the case would not be allowed.
“The CPI will go for legal action if the children are taken into custody. The home department is trying to show the Maoists as criminals and accuse them of attacks that are fabricated,” he alleged.
According to him, it is the state’s apathy towards the people's issues that gave the Maoists a foothold in tribal areas, and by suppressing such movements, the government was moving away from the real issues.
“The huge amount of money spent for the so-called Maoist hunt could be routed for the welfare and development of tribal and other backward classes,” he said.
The party would launch a nationwide protest against the Land Acquisition Bill introduced by the Union government, he said.
