Thursday, Feb 27, 2003
Thursday, Feb 27, 2003 |
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Kerala
By Our Staff Reporter
Addressing a Press conference here today, Mr. Padmanabhan recalled that the UDF partners could force Mr. Antony to retract from his obstinate stand on increasing electricity charges and on the agitation by the Government employees. Asked whether any UDF partner had given out some feelers indicating that they had a different stand than the one taken by the Chief Minister, Mr. Padmanabhan said the JSS leader and the Agriculture Minister, K. R. Gouri, was known to be having reservation about the manner in which the tribal agitation was being handled by the Government. He said the position taken by the senior Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, on the issue was also positive. He, however, said that it was the Muslim League that was controlling the State and the Industries Minister, Kunhalikutty, was acting as the `Super Chief Minister'. "On the Muthanga issues also, the opinion of the Chief Minister could be that of Mr. Kunhalikutty.'' Pointing out that it was the frail tribal women and children who had been arrested alleging that they had resorted to armed rebellion at Muthanga, Mr. Padmanabhan said the Government should immediately release all those arrested in connection with the Muthanga incidents except those who had direct involvement in the criminal activities like killing of the policeman and taking hostages of the Forest staff. He made it clear that the BJP was of the opinion that no cases should be registered against the tribals for occupying forestland because tribals were primarily the residents of forest. Only the criminal activities related to the Muthanga incidents should be chargesheeted. He said the BJP would launch direct agitations to press for a judicial probe into the Muthanga incidents and for the immediate release of the innocent tribals who had been arrested in connection with the incidents. Clarifying the reported remarks of the BJP State secretary, P. P. Mukundan, that cases be registered against mediapersons for giving `sensational' accounts of the Muthanga, Mr. Padmanabhan said that was not the official position of the BJP. In fact, but for the mediapersons the world would not have come to know what kind of atrocities had taken place at Muthanga. Alleging that the tribals were being hunted down by the police across the State in the name of the incidents at Muthanga, Mr. Padmanabhan said that it was only a delusion of Mr. Antony that he could crush the tribal agitation just like the Naxallite movement was crushed. Recalling that the pro-CPI(M) tribal outfits had also occupied similar forestlands, the BJP leader said it must be found out whether the people who had occupied forestland under the banner of Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha and the pro-CPI(M) tribal organisation were real tribals. But the real reason for such forced occupation of land was the breaching of the commitment made by the Government to the tribals. The Government should identify and distribute the land to the tribals at the earliest. There were thousands of hecatres of land which were in the custody of land-grabbers and ganja lobbies. Those land should be immediately restored to the tribals. Dismissing the argument of the Government that the Muthanga area was sensitive forestland in terms of biodiversity and wildlife, he said there was hardly any forest at Muthanga area though a Central fund of nearly Rs. 45 crores had been spent there for forest protection. He said it was the ineptness of the Government that had led to the killing of the policeman at Muthanga. There were about 600 heavily armed policemen at Muthanga when the hostage drama of the forest staff and the policeman were taking place.
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