The Hindu : Natesan seeks amnesty for Janu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Natesan seeks amnesty for Janu

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI MARch 24. The SNDP Yogam general secretary, Vellappalli Natesan, has urged the Kerala Government to give amnesty to the Adivasi leaders, C.K. Janu and M. Geethanandan, as well as to all the Adivasis arrested in the wake of the Muthanga incident.

Referring to the CPI(M) agitation and hartals seeking a judicial probe into the incident, Mr. Natesan, in a statement, wanted the Government to take strong steps against "those who unleashed riots and caused widespread damage to public property."

In a veiled criticism of the CPI(M), he said the post-Muthanga political developments had exposed a lot of `political hypocrisy.' Referring to a report that the former Minister, T. Sivadasa Menon, had allegedly faked a bleeding wound on his body during the police lathicharge on CPI(M) activists at Palakkad, Mr. Natesan said it was the "most cruel face of cold-blooded meanness" by political parties. He wondered why did the "cultural leaders" not protest against this.

He claimed the allegations by senior Opposition leaders that several Adivasis had been shot dead and buried in the Muthanga forest and that several Adivasi women had been raped were proved false.

Mr. Natesan called for compensation to be paid to the relatives of the KAP constable, Vinodkumar, who had been hacked to death by the Adivasis during the Muthanga police operation. He condemned the Opposition attitude of viewing the police as enemies. He felt that it was because of the police that life in Kerala was going on smoothly.

He remarked that both the ruling and the Opposition coalitions had made gains from Muthanga. It was the people who had to suffer loss. Mr. Natesan said both the coalitions had deceived the Adivasis. He said there was no point in ordering a judicial probe into the Muthanga incident as reports of several judicial commissions had piled up in the State Secretariat without any Governmental action being taken on them.

Mr. Natesan condemned the attack on P.V. Gangadharan, chairman of the Film Development Corporation and a member of the board of directors of the `Mathrubhumi' during the last LDF-called hartal.

He regretted that the social activists and cultural leaders had refused to condemn that attack on such an important personality.

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