Congress leader Rahul Gandhi MP, has promised to look into the issue of the arrest of Siddique Kappan, who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for attempting to instigate communal riots in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Rahul is in Kerala on a three-day visit to his constituency Wayanad.
In a meeting with a delegation at Malappuram, Rahul said the Congress party observes the “illegal detention” of Siddique Kappan as a “serious matter”.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) secretary K P Naushad Ali and Mahila Congress leader Fathima Roshna said they brought the detention issue to the notice of Rahul Gandhi and he assured them that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and party leader Priyanka Gandhi will intervene in the matter.
Speaking to the Times of India, KPCC secretary K P Noushad Ali said he is aware of the developments. “Rahul said he is aware of the fact that he is a journalist and a member of the journalist union. He assured that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and AICC general secretary in charge of the state Priyanka Gandhi will intervene in the issue,” Noushad Ali said.
Siddique Kappan, a native of Malappuram, is an office-bearer of Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), a journalist union dominated by leftists. Siddique was arrested along with three other PFI workers on the way to Hathras. The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Mathura Anju Rajput on Friday (16th October) dismissed an application filed by the KUWJ. The UP Police has arrested Kappan under Sections 153-A, 295-A, 124-A of IPC, Section 17, and 14 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 65, 72 and 76 of Information Technology Act.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress has visited the house of Communist terror accused in Kozhikode. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has visited both Thaha Fazal and Alan Suhaib, who are CPI(M) activists, and offered a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to Thaha. Ramesh said in a Facebook post that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee would hand over the amount to Thaha today. Both Alan and Thaha were arrested under charges of UAPA from Pantheerankavu. Recently, an NIA court has granted both of them bail under strict conditions 10 months after the arrest.
