A writ petition was filed at the High Court on Monday by Elamaram Kareem, A.M. Ariff, and V. Sivadasan, MPs of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], seeking a directive to the Lakshadweep administration to issue them permits to visit the island.
In the petition, they said they wanted to visit the island to understand the current situation and hear the grievances of the people in Lakshadweep. Though they had approached the Administrator for an entry permit, they were asked to postpone their visit.
The petitioners said they were denied permission because the Administrator wanted to hide his ‘oppressive and arbitrary actions.’ In fact, the Administrator had visited the island and returned without complying with the COVID-19 protocol.
The administration had allowed a foreign national to enter the island. The foreigner was still staying there. Therefore, the action of the Administrator in denying them entry permits was arbitrary and unconstitutional, they said.
