Achuthanandan volte face on Nazir issue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Political leaders in Kerala continued trading charges over the responsibility of letting Lashkar-e-Taiba suspect from the state, Thadiyantavide Nazir having a free run in the state on his way to international terror networking.

Meanwhile, chief minister VS Achuthanandan did a volte face, admitting that north zone IG Tomin Thachankary had been sent to Bangalore for interrogating Nazir with the knowledge of the authorities concerned. The CM virtually swallowed his words of Tuesday, when he had said the IG had not been sent with the government’s knowledge. The CM’s statement had been countered by home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who maintained that Thachankary was deputed to Bangalore by the home ministry.

The Opposition United Democratic Front kept up its criticism of the way the Left government has handled the Nazir issue, with KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala demanding that Thachankary be recalled from Bangalore. He said he would petition the central home ministry officials if the demand was not met.

Opposition leader Oommen Chandy blamed the Left government for allegedly letting Nazir off the hook, and alleged that the CPM-led government had sidelined the investigations against terror suspects. He said that the move to send someone from outside the anti-terror squad to Bangalore to question the suspects was proof of this attitude.

Mr Chandy accused the government of making allegations against the opposition to cover up its own failings in nabbing Nazir. “Who has created this situation where anyone can come and go without any obstruction whatsoever?”, Chandy asked, adding that the home minister had not been able to convince the CM about his decision to send the north zone IG to Bangalore.