KOZHIKODE: As public support for the two arrested college students came down after the police produced more evidence on Tuesday to back their theory that they have Maoist links, the CPM cadre are in a dilemma on the stance they have to take on their two fellow workers. The general feeling till Monday was that anti-terror charges in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Alan Suhaib, 20, and Thwaha Fasal, 24, will be revoked due to mounting political pressure. But support for them has been on the wane since Monday after the police produced some strong evidence. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too had justified the police action in the assembly on Monday adding that the state government would ensure that UAPA is not misused.
Yet, the CPM has found itself in a spot. Party sources said even if the government withdraws UAPA charges slapped on the two students, the National Investigation Agency, which is likely to take over the case, can slap the same based on the evidence the police have collected in the case. It would be a political setback for the CPM as the BJP could unleash a nationwide campaign accusing the former of protecting Maoists. The party is also worried as it has to answer how CPI (Maoists) ideology influenced its cadre. The police have provided enough hints that there are other likeminded young Maoist sympathisers who double as DYFI workers.
BJP leader and Union Minister V Muraleedharan has already fired the salvo saying “Anti-nationals need not be searched outside, they are sitting pretty in the CPM”. It is even more worrying for the CPM that its local leaders, who are supposed to know the cadre inside out, were clueless about the students’ activities. “We’re in utter disbelief. Our impression was that they’re young, educated and fiercely responsive youths in a Left perspective.
Considering their age, we know they cross the party borders once in a while and react sharply. But the police say the two are Maoist workers and they had started their activities long ago. If it’s true, they’ve betrayed the CPM after sneaking into the party fold,” said a local CPM leader at Panniyankara. Not ready to wait any longer, an internal probe by a threemember panel has been launched by the CPM district committee into the involvement of the two students in the banned outfit. Alan and Thwaha are members of CPM’s Meenchanda Bypass and Parammal committees respectively.
Alan spoke on Kashmir issue in DYFI event
Alan and Thwaha are members of CPM’s Meenchanda Bypass and Parammal committees respectively. Alan, who is also the executive member of DYFI Meenchanda Bypass unit, had participated in the local conference of DYFI on October 27 and said the organisation was not intervening enough in the Kashmir issue. CPM Politburo member M A Baby, meanwhile, did not read much into the pair’s Maoist links.
“Debates on whether the two have Maoist links or not are irrelevant. Even if we admit for argument’s sake that they do have such links, UAPA shouldn’t be invoked against people who have reported links with such organisations. That’s the stance of both the CPM and the Left front,” said Baby. But generally, the Left camp has been silent since the CM spoke about the issue in the assembly on Monday.