Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has described the criticism from certain quarters against the Kerala Police in connection with the ongoing investigation in the recent kidnapping of a child at Kollam as “unfair and unwarranted.”
Addressing the media during the Cabinet outreach programme Navakerala Sadas in Palakkad on December 2 (Saturday), Mr. Vijayan said that the State police had risen up to its name in the investigation. He warned that unwarranted criticism would demoralise the force.
The Chief Minister cited several cases as examples to prove the State police’s excellence in investigation skills. He pointed out the cases such as the murder of a migrant worker’s minor daughter at Aluva, the attack on AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the attack on the ashram of Swami Sandeepananda Giri in Thiruvananthapuram, the notorious Elanthoor human sacrifice, and the train arson attack case at Elathur.
“Our police could fetch maximum punishment for the accused in the Aluva child murder case within 110 days after the crime. The Sangh Parivar had spread rumours that Sandeepananda Giri himself had attacked his ashram. Finally, the police caught the culprits when they arrested some Sangh Parivar men, including a BJP councillor,” said Mr. Vijayan.
The Chief Minister handed over a driver’s licence to Jilumol, a differently abled woman from Idukki. The State Disability Commissioner had intervened to circumvent the legal and technical hurdles for Ms. Jilumol to get a driver’s licence. She became the first armless woman in Asia to a get a four-wheeler driver’s licence. She got her licence after striving for it for the last five years.
‘Governor responsible’
Addressing the Navakerala Sadas gathering at Fort Maidan in Palakkad later, the Chief Minister reiterated that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the Chancellor of Kannur University was solely responsible for the setback the reappointment of Kannur University Vice Chancellor had at the Supreme Court.
He said it was the Legislative Assembly that appointed the Governor as the Chancellor and the Higher Education Minister as the Pro-Chancellor. They both can only work in tandem with the government and the Legislative Assembly, he said.
“We cannot buy the argument that the Governor had succumbed to the pressures of those below him in status. The Governor’s changing stances will only destroy the peaceful atmosphere in any sector,” he said.
Organising committee chairman T.K. Noushad presided over the function. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil, and Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian spoke.
The Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues addressed programmes at Malampuzha, Kongad and Mannarkkad too.
