Thursday, Mar 27, 2003
Thursday, Mar 27, 2003 |
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Kerala
By Our Special Correspondent
On a brief visit to the capital, Mr. Antony met Mr. Sinha this morning to advocate the cause of the large number of Malayalis living in the Gulf, and apprise him of the possible fall-out of a prolonged military engagement on Kerala's economy. After his interaction with Mr. Sinha, the Chief Minister told the media that the External Affairs Minister had assured him that the Government would strive to secure the jobs of all Indians returning on account of the military action in Iraq. The `official leg' of his visit apart, Mr. Antony also met the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, during the day and `briefed' her on the turn of the events following the Muthanga incident. However, he refused to divulge details about what transpired at the meeting. About the controversy that has drawn international attention, the Chief Minister questioned the manner in which the death of two persons in the police action in Muthanga had been blown out of proportion. "People have billed me as Kerala's Narendra Modi, and made it look as if I had lorded over a massacre,'' he said. As for the National Human Rights Commission's rejection of his Government's report on the Muthanga incident, Mr. Antony sought to dismiss its implications by drawing attention to the fact that the State had ordered a CBI inquiry as recommended by the Commission. "Once the NHRC came into the picture, I had maintained that the Government would decide on its course of action as per the Commission's report. And, that is what we have done. Why could the Opposition not wait for the NHRC to give its report?'' Also, he was very critical of the manner in which the Opposition had sought to draw political mileage out of the Muthanga incident. In particular, he expressed anguish over the two hartals during examination time. "While I accept that agitation is a democratic process, there is a need to generate public opinion against hartals during examination time as it causes a lot of suffering to students and parents alike.'' Besides the inconvenience the hartals had caused to students, Mr. Antony also expressed apprehension over its impact on the State's efforts to project Kerala as an investment destination. "After the Global Investor Meet, we had been able to convince investors that Kerala offered a conducive climate for investment. But, the 72-hour strike and frequent disruptions could well turn them away from the State yet again,'' he said.
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