As the Left Democratic Front government completes two years in office on 25 May, a parole request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the time of Emergency is going viral in the state.
On 9 November 1976, Pinarayi sought parole and wrote that 'his presence was needed for his mother's treatment’. He was the MLA representing Kuthuparamba constituency in Kannur at that time.
The handwritten letter from Pinarayi Vijayan MLA, detainee No 255, has been exhibited at a festival called 'Ponkathir' at the pavillion of the Prisons Department in Kannur Police Grounds as part of the second anniversary celebration of the LDF government.
The parole request was addressed to Special Secretary of the Home Department. During the time of Emergency, the present Chief Minister was housed at Central Prison in Kannur.
Pinarayi, along with ten other opposition MLAs in the state, had been arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
The controversial law, passed by the Parliament in 1971, provided the Prime Minister and Law Enforcement Agencies draconian powers.
A big contingent of police personnel had taken Pinarayi into custody from his home on 28 September during the night. The police treated Pinarayi like a hardcore criminal in jail. He was stripped and subjected to brutal torture, which had sparked controversy at that time.
It also lead to heated debates in the Assembly between the then-home minister K Karunakaran, a Congress stalwart, and Left MLAs in the opposition.
At a later occasion, Pinarayi had made an emotional note on the floor of the Assembly about the entire episode.
The pavillion at the Prison Grounds has been set up as a model of the Kannur Central Prison. Jail records of several other prominent figures in the state like former Chief Minister C Achutha Menon and writer SK Pottekatt have also been kept on display.
Pinarayi assumed office as Chief Minister on 25 May 2016. He is the longest-serving Secretary of the CPI (M) Kerala unit. He served as the Secretary from 1998 to 2015.
(This story was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)
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