THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Secretary Tom Jose, who was caught in the eye of a storm after his article lionizing police action against the Maoist cadres in Agaly forest appeared on print, found strong support in Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The chief minister n Wednesday told the assembly that Chief Secretary had penned the newspaper article justifying encounter killing of Maoists in Agaly forest without prior permission. He said Tom had aired his personal opinion in the article and there is no need for seeking government permission to do so.
The CM added that the investigation into the encounter killing won't be influenced because of the article. Pinarayi rose in defence of the top-most bureaucrat after Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala took strong exception to the article that appeared in an English newspaper on Tuesday.
The Chief Secretary's words tom-tomming the police action against the red ultras in Agaly snowballed into a controversy after the Opposition and the coalition partner CPI strongly objected to the tenor of the article. Tom had written that the Maoists did not enjoy human rights as others.