Abduction issue: Moily criticises Centre

By Our Special Correspondent

HUBLI, OCT. 7. Mr. M.Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister, has crticised the Union Government's "indifferent" attitude in finding a solution to the Mr. Rajkumar abduction issue.

Mr. Moily told presspersons here on Friday that the Centre should have intervened soon after the kidnap to find a quick solution to the issue. Or it should have intervened when Mr. Gopal, Editor, Nakkeeran, returned empty handed from the forests after his first mission.

Mr. Moily said that the Kannada thespian was kidnapped in Tamil Nadu. The Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K.Advani, should have spoken to the Chief Minister of that State, Mr. M.Karunanidhi, for his early release.

When pointed out that the Home Minister of the State, Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, had opposed the intervention of the Union Government, Mr. Moily said that the Centre should not justify its inaction using Mr. Kharge's statements. It was surprising that it was silent on an incident which was "ridiculing" the law and order system in the country.

Mr. Moily recalled that when he was the Chief Minister, a joint task force of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had been set up to nab Veerappan. The personnel of the two states could pursue Veerappan in each other's jurisdiction. The services of the BSF had been requisitioned and licences of granite quarry operators cancelled. The number of members in the brigand's gang was reduced to three. If the task force continued its operations for 20 more days then, Veerappan would have been caught. The change of governments at that time did not allow this, he said.

Mr. Moily said that the then Prime Minister, Mr. Narasimha Rao, and the then Union Home Minister, Mr. S.B.Chavan, used to enquire about the progress made by the task force every day. The NDA Government was not concerned about the issue. Mr. Advani was probably maintianing silence since the DMK was part of the NDA, he added.

Mr. Moily said that the Opposition had no moral authority to criticise the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, on the issue. They had attended the all-party meeting convened by the latter. He dismissed the Opposition claim that the development works had come to a halt due to the abduction.

He said that there was no demand for change in leadership in the State, and added that it was not desirable. Mr. Krishna was competent. His was the only Congress(I) Government in the South. The party had the responsibility of providing a good Government. The party would have won if it taken the Kagawad byelection more seriously, he added.

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Section  : Southern States
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