Kerala: LDF seeks answers over IPS officer's meeting with senior RSS leader

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 9 (PTI) The controversial meeting between senior IPS officer M R Ajith Kumar and a senior RSS leader last year continues to cause ripples in Kerala politics, with ruling Left Democratic Front convenor T P Ramakrishnan demanding a detailed examination into its cause and intention.

A senior CPI(M) leader, Ramakrishnan said the ADGP himself had admitted that he had met RSS General secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in Thrissur last year.

"So, why did he go? What was the intention (of the meeting)? These things should be examined in detail," the Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor told the media.

Pointing out that a government-level probe is already being carried out into the allegations, he said all aspects of the issue are expected to come out in the investigation.

"If the officer is found to be the culprit, the government will initiate stringent action against him. The stand of the LDF and the government is well clear in this regard," Ramakrishnan added.

Asked about LDF MLA P V Anvar raising serious allegations against the ADGP through a series of press conferences, the leader said he is not a CPI(M) member and so the party has limitations in controlling his independent stand and actions.

"Anvar is an MLA who is cooperating with the LDF. In the present political scenario, we cannot tell him anything against his independent stand or ask him to act in a particular manner," he said.

Ramakrishnan, however, said it is Anvar who should examine whether what he had done was right.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) central committee member A Vijayaraghavan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is not a person who supports any kind of malpractice.

The party comrades are in the government and an investigation has already been progressing into the allegations, he added.

He also accused the media of creating unnecessary controversies over the matter.

While talking to reporters in New Delhi, senior Left leader and Finance Minister K N Balagopal sought to downplay the row and said no one can take a stand that an officer cannot meet anyone.

"An officer meeting people is a normal thing. We cannot take a stand that they cannot talk to anyone. The government is already examining the matter," he said.

When his reaction was sought, Assembly speaker A N Shamseer justified the top official and said meeting a RSS leader personally was not a big deal.

"RSS is a significant organisation in the country. There is nothing wrong with an officer meeting one of its leaders personally," he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, a section of the media reported that besides RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, ADGP Ajith Kumar had also met RSS leader Ram Madhav in the state capital recently.

An official confirmation is yet to come on the reports.

However, the opposition Congress-led UDF toughened its stand against CM Vijayan's continuing silence on the issue while the BJP sought to know whether he had sent the top IPS officer as a messenger to meet the RSS leader.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan described Vijayan's silence as "cowardice" and accused him of meeting the media only as per his convenience.

Avoiding the media when there are controversies is nothing but cowardice, he alleged and asked why the CM doesn't have the guts to speak out.

Days have passed after a ruling front MLA raised grave allegations against the CM and his office. Why is Vijayan not ready to say that those charges were false, the LoP asked.

"Soon after the ADGP had admitted his meeting with Hosabale, reports about his meeting with Ram Madhav also came out. Let it come out as to who else was with the officer on that day during the meeting," Satheesan said.

The Congress leader also said that it would be another shocking news for Kerala if the details of those who accompanied him were to come out.

Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan said the RSS would give a reply to the allegations.

But, before that, CM Vijayan and ADGP Ajith Kumar should respond, he demanded.

Vijayan should make it clear whether he had sent the ADGP as his messenger to the RSS leader, he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, ruling LDF MLA Anvar, who had raised grave allegations against Ajith Kumar, on Monday demanded his removal as ADGP in charge of law and order of the state.

The Nilambur MLA suspected that retaining Kumar in the key post was to implicate him in false cases.

"Even if I am eliminated, the evidence I have collected cannot be destroyed. I am making arrangements to ensure its safety," he told reporters in Malappuram. PTI