By Liz Mathew, IANS
New Delhi : In what could be a fallout of the three Bangalore doctors' arrest in the attempted terror strikes in Britain, the British High Commission here has denied visa to a group of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists from the southern states who wanted to travel to Cuba via London.
Activists of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students Federation of India (SFI) – the youth and students wing of the CPI-M – sought British visa to travel to Cuba to attend the international solidarity meeting that is being organised on the occasion of Moncada Day July 26, a day of historical importance in the Cuban revolutionary struggle.
The high commission has denied visa to the leaders from the southern states – both Kerala and Tamil Nadu – citing "technical" troubles. But the party activists alleged that it was "discrimination" as their counterparts from the northern and eastern states, who had submitted the same documents, were granted visa.
"They have kept our passports for 10 days and they informed us about the denial of visa only Monday evening. Out of the 12 people, who sought visa, they picked and chose the people from the south to deny the permission," DYFI national president P. Sriramakrishnan told IANS here.
Apart from Sriramakrishnan, DYFI's Kerala state president M.B. Rajesh, Tamil Nadu secretary S. Kannan, SFI national president Arun Kumar, Kerala secretary M. Swaraj were also not given visas.
Six others, including those from West Bengal, who were granted visa, have already left for Havana.
Sriramakrishnan alleged that he and his colleagues have been denied visa only because they were from the southern states. "The British authorities are viewing the entire south Indians as suspects after the arrest of Bangalore doctors. It is highly unfortunate," he said.
Three Indian doctors from Karnataka were arrested in connection with the recent failed bombings in Glasgow.
Senior leader and CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat said the high commission's move was "illogical and irrational".
"If they have denied visa only to the people from south, it extremely unfortunate. Such a move to deny visa to people from a whole region is irrational, illogical, and it could be construed as discrimination," Karat told IANS.
She also asked the Indian government to take up the matter seriously.
The leaders have then approached the Russian embassy for visa to travel to Havana via Moscow.
The 11-member delegation is to attend a 10-day conference, which will also be attended by activists from the US, Latin American countries and Caribbean Islands to study employment generation, industrialisation and education system in Cuba.
It was on July 26, 1956 that Fidel Castro led the attack on Moncada Barracks, marking the beginning of the Cuban revolutionary struggle, which ended on Jan 1 1959 when Fidel and Che Guevara led the cheering crowds entering Havana to overthrow dictator Batista.