THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The assembly on Tuesday witnessed heated arguments between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Opposition bench over the slapping of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on CPM workers Alan Shuhaib and Thwaha Fazal. The Opposition demanded the transfer of the case from the Centre to the state by invoking Section 7(B) of the NIA Act.
The Opposition, which sought adjournment of the proceedings of the House to discuss the issue, at one point of time likened the chief minister to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath.
However, the chief minister refused to budge from his position and stated that the two youths had links with Maoist elements. The Opposition then staged a walkout in protest against the denial of permission to seek leave for an adjournment motion.
On transferring the case by invoking section 7(B) of the NIA Act, the chief minister clarified that the law clearly states that the transfer of the case to the state government for probe and trial of the offence is possible only with the Centre’s prior approval.