Selective' UAPA cases on leaders worry CPM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Thursday accused the Oommen Chandy government of selectively using UAPA against his party leaders at the behest of the RSS and BJP.

At a press conference here, Mr Balakrishnan cited nearly half-a-dozen brutal murder cases including that of CPM workers in which police didn’t invoke UAPA. His statement came in the wake of High Court upholding the use of UAPA provisions against CPM district secretary P. Jayarjan in Kathirur Manojr murder case.

He alleged that in as many as 20 cases people involved in brutal murder and attempt-to-murder cases were granted bail because they were RSS BJP workers. “The UDF government is going out of the way to appease RSS and BJP. Both want to weaken the CPM,” he added.

The CPM leader said the prosecution had opposed Mr Jayarajan’s anticipatory bail in court citing UAPA. However, RSS workers involved in the murder of CPM workers Vinod and Preman managed to secure bail because the police had not invoked UAPA and conspiracy charges against them he said and added that this indicated that dual justice system prevailed in the state.

Mr Balakrishnan said Mr Chandy was hesitant to invoke UAPA against the RSS and BJP. This was also evident in the brutal murder of Narayanan Nair in Vellarda and CPM worker's eight year old son in Kasarogd.

He said the government and the BJP were  conspiring to lodge all prominent leaders of CPM in jail to keep them out of campaign in the forthcoming crucial Assembly electios.