The Hindu : Kerala News : Furore over Kannur killings

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Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
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Kerala

Furore over Kannur killings

Special Correspondent

Assembly adjourned after Opposition demonstration in the well of the House

Photo: S. Mahinsha

FOR PEACE: Opposition MLAs stage a sit-in in front of the Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday after a walkout in protest against the violence in Kannur.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes and an Opposition demonstration in the well of the House over the Kannur killings leading to its adjournment barely 70 minutes into the zero hour on Monday.

The Opposition, which sought adjournment of the House to discuss the killings involving RSS and CPI(M) cadres, trooped into the well of the House when its bid to raise full-fledged discussion on the subject came to nought.

As the members began shouting slogans accusing the government of failure to make timely intervention in Kannur, Speaker K. Radhakrishnan first tried to rush through the business listed for the day and later brought the sitting to an abrupt end.

Once the House dispersed for the day, the Opposition MLAs marched out of the House and staged a brief sit-in in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the forecourt of the Legislature.

‘Under control’

Earlier, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan assured the House that the situation in Kannur was under control and that both the CPI(M) and RSS leadership had promised to desist from any more violent acts.

The government did not consider it prudent to call an all-party meeting at this juncture because the local RSS leadership was reluctant to sit across a table with their CPI(M) counterparts till the situation stabilised.

Mr. Achuthanandan said he returned to Kerala after attending the CPI(M) Central Committee meeting with the intention to convene an all-party meeting. On his arrival, he was informed about the attack on the CPI(M) Central Committee office in New Delhi and about the reluctance of RSS leaders to sit alongside their CPI(M) counterparts in Kannur to discuss ways to end the killings. This was why the all-party meeting was deferred.

The Home Minister informed the House that he had separate discussions with leaders of the CPI(M) and the RSS in Kannur and secured the assurance that they would not indulge in any further violence in the Thalassery area.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy regretted the government stand against a full-fledged discussion on the subject at a time when the issue was sought to be raised by the CPI(M) in Parliament for a detailed discussion.

The government could have averted at least three deaths if it had intervened earlier. Further, although the CPI(M) and RSS leaders promised not to indulge in any more violence, anti-social elements were using the occasion to settle personal scores. Addressing mediapersons at the gate of the Legislature, Mr. Chandy termed the government stand against a discussion “undemocratic”.

The government should convene an all-party meeting, hold an impartial investigation and arrest all those involved in the killings, he said.

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