Days after the Congress party extended its support to the two students - Alan Suhaib and Thaha Fasal - booked on UAPA charges, CPI(M) Kozhikode district committee has taken a soft stance on the students.
CPI(M) Kozhikode district secretary P Mohanan on Thursday told media that Alan and Thaha are still members of the party and that that party has not taken any disciplinary action against them, reports Mathrubhumi. This, however, is different from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s earlier statement that both the students were ‘not CPI(M) workers but Maoists’.
Alan Suhaib and Thaha Fasal were arrested from Kozhikode by Kerala Police in November for allegedly distributing pro Maoist posters. The case was recently taken up by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
P Mohanan also said that the party was yet to get the facts of the case as the students who are in custody have not been able to present their version. He also reportedly stated that the party cannot take a decision on the students yet as the investigation is not yet over. “CPI(M) can only take action against the students after completing certain party procedures,” Mohanan said.
On questions from the media about the Chief Minister’s earlier stand about the students, Mohanan said that it might have been based on the inputs given from the government machinery, reports the Times of India.
The statement of CPI(M) district faction comes just two days after Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala visited the families of both Alan and Thaha, and extended support to the families in the issue.
Meanwhile, as P Mohanan's statement became a discussion in media, he came out again stating that some media houses were misquoting him by saying that he rejected Chief Minister’s stand.
After Pinarayi Vijayan’s statement in December that Alan and Thaha were Maoists, many party leaders had even come out supporting the Chief Minister’ view. P Jayarajan, state committee member of CPI(M) and a top leader of the party, had hit out against the students saying that they had obvious Maoist links.