Communist Party of India (Marxist) State unit secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the decision not to prosecute the two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation And Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act (SUA) betrayed a special favour on the part of the Union government.
At a press conference here on Monday during the tour of the Kerala Raksha Yatra led by him, Mr. Vijayan said the Union government’s earlier assurance to the Italian government that the marines would not be slapped with charges that attracted the death sentence was an affront to India’s self-respect and sovereignty. The latest submission of the Union government to the Supreme Court that the marines would not be prosecuted under the anti-piracy law lent credence to the allegation that the Centre was showing the marines special favour. It justified the allegation that Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s special interest was behind the ‘undue favour’ to the marines.
Mr. Vijayan said KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran should react on the issue.
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He said the yatra being led by him was drawing a huge response from the public. The people were fed up with the ‘anti-people’ policies of the State and the Union governments. The yatra was received at various places, including Taliparamba, Pazhayangadi, and Kannur.