The Hindu : Krishna refutes charge on ransom

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 03, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Krishna refutes charge on ransom

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE SEPT. 2. The Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, today termed as insinuation the allegation made by his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Jayalalithaa, that Rs. 30 crores had been paid on the Karnataka side to the forest brigand, Veerappan, to get the release of the Kannada film thespian, Rajkumar.

Reacting to Ms. Jayalalithaa's charge at a press conference in Chennai today, Mr. Krishna said that such allegations by persons holding such responsible positions had to be refuted.

He had not seen the full text of Ms. Jayalalithaa's allegation. Mr. Krishna said that he might say more, if necessary, after going through the full text.

On the efforts of the Special Task Force to get the safe release of the former Minister, H. Nagappa, the Chief Minister said that he and the Home Minister, Mallikarjuna Kharge, were in touch with Nagappa's family and the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, V.V. Bhaskar, camping at Gondal in Kollegal taluk.

He said there was nothing to say on the issue and added that if he felt the situation demanded a public statement, he would himself make one.

Asked when he was appointing the new STF chief, Mr. Krishna said that Mr. Bhaskar was overseeing the operations.

Meanwhile, the STF chief, R.P. Sharma, was seen in Vidhana Soudha. Mr. Sharma, who said he was not on leave, declined to reply to any queries from presspersons.

`A cheap diatribe'

In a signed statement to the press, Mr. Krishna today termed Ms. Jayalalithaa's observations on Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin as a "cheap diatribe".

The vitriolic attack, he said, "is a reflection of the state of mind of the person making the attack''.

Such "irrational and intemperate rantings" would not dent her credibility nor deflect Congressmen from pursuing their objectives. Congressmen would only view Ms. Jayalalithaa's outburst as a "cheap diatribe".

Ultimately, in a democratic polity, the people alone could decide the future of the country and not a personal, political attack resembling a "school-level debate", Mr. Krishna said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Aqua farmers lathicharged in A.P.

Land in lieu of Hyderabad House in Delhi

Krishna refutes charge on ransom

AIDS scourge in Vijayawada