Parties in Kannur flout police diktat

Kannur: Political leaders in Kannur are yet to completely agree with the warning sent by the district police chief on Monday, in the backdrop of recurring violence. While the CPM said that they would not unduly interefere in police actions, BJP leaders said that the favouritism by the police would be questioned through a people’s protest.  In his letter to all political parties, addressed to its district leaders separately, police chief Sanjay Kumar Gurudin had asked that there be no interference in police action, aimed at restoring peace. However, CPM district secretary P. Jayarajan said that the party could not always show restraint, since all cops were not impartial.

“Political violence in Kannur is not just a law and order issue as the police chief puts it. It is being triggered by the RSS as part of its agenda in Kerala. There are also religious speeches with communal intolerance. These should also be banned. We cannot keep silent against the wrong action of the cops. All the officers are not impartial and accepting all their actions will lead to their autocratic rule,” said Mr Jayarajan. However, he added that the party was committed to restoring peace in the district.

BJP district president P. Sathyaprakasan said that unilateral and partial acts could not be accepted and the party would go ahead with popular protests in the district against police action. “Our party never resorted to glorifying culprits involved in political violence when they were granted bail. All the parties are equal before the law. If the intentions of the cops are good, we are ready to accept them, to maintain peace in the area. However, unjust actions cannot be tolerated,” he said.

The warning letters were sent to the leaders, soon after an all-party peace meeting convened by Collector Mir Mohammed Ali. However, the police chief said that all the leaders had accepted that they would cooperate with police action at the meeting.