THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM central and state leaderships are poles apart over the use of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA-PA) against two youths, Taha and Alan Shuhaib, who have been accused of Maoist links.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday again expressed his opposition to invoking UAPA against the youths who were arrested from Panthe-erankavu, Kozhikode, on November 2.
However, the CPM state secretariat has decided not to intervene in the matter and endorsed the decision to slap UAPA on them.
Mr Yechury told reporters in Delhi that resorting to the draconian Act was wrong. Asked whether the central leadership will take up the matter with the state unit, he said, “we have already conveyed that.”
Mr Yechury’s response once again reflected the party’s total disapproval of the law.
A few days ago, he had expressed his views to reporters in London. Apart from negation of elementary democratic rights and human liberties, his party considered the amended UAPA as a major assault on federalism and the rights of the state, he said.
Former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat had also criticised the Kerala police on the issue. It was unjustified especially on the grounds that pamphlets and other materials were recovered from the accused, he said.
The central leadership is, however, hopeful of the state government exploring legal ways to drop the cases.
Meanwhile, the CPM has decided to take action against Taha and Alan Shuhaib as the party believes that they are not innocent.
