Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on December 12 hit out at Karnataka
Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge for statements attributed to him that the Tamil
Nadu Special Task Force (STF) had caused the death of Nagappa, and said such
responses would only "vitiate" the atmosphere and create 'bad blood' in the field
amongst officers and men.
In a demi-official letter to her Karnataka counterpart S M Krishna, she said nothing
must be done to "stoke the embers of suspicion or fuel speculation" at a crucial
movement when the energies should be directed at a joint operation to nab the forest
brigand Veerappan.
The capture of Veerappan was a "mission" that both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had now
embarked upon in right earnest and this must transcend all political
considerations. "The war against Veerappan must be fought in forest where Veerappan
lurks, not in the columns of the media," she said seeking Krishna's co-operation and
concurrence on the matter.
Pointing out that she was writing the letter with a sense of "unease" in the light
of remarks attributed to Kharge, she said the hunt for the brigand should be "our
only objective" and nothing should stand in the way, particularly not the sort
of "ambiguous implicatory responses" to "provocative questions from the press" on
the sensitive issue, attributed to Kharge, she said.
PTI
