The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, December 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Jaya raps Krishna
A. Balu

Chennai, December 12
The joint mission of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to capture forest brigand Veerappan faces a fresh snag with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa taking umbrage at speculation in Karnataka that it was the Special Task Force (STF) from her state that had caused the death of H. Nagappa.

In a strongly worded letter to Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr M.S. Krishna, Ms Jayalalithaa said the capture of Veerappan was a mission that both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had now embarked on in right earnest and “this must transcend all political considerations.”

Ms Jayalalithaa added: “The war against Veerappan must be fought in the forests, where he lurks and not in the columns of the media.”

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister took strong exception to Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge fuelling speculation about the role of Tamil Nadu STF on the basis of an “astounding allegation” by Veerappan.

“You will agree” she told Mr Krishna in her letter, “that the hunt for the brigand should be our only objective and nothing should stand in the way of this objective, particularly not this sort of ambiguous, implicatory responses to provocative questions from the Press on this sensitive issue, attributed to Mr Kharge.”