THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the CPI scaled up its opposition towards Maoists killings at Attappadi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan once again justified the police action. On Friday, the chief minister reported the government stand on the Maoist issue at the CPM state secretariat meeting. The party state leadership has decided to discuss the issue after the findings of the magisterial probe.
Pinarayi briefed his party colleagues about the Maoist killings and the situation which led to the encounter. He said the Maoists were heavily armed and had AK 47 and other weapons in their possession. The Thunderbolt personnel had to counterattack in self-defence after heavy firing by the Maoists. He said the government is waiting for the findings of the magisterial probe into the encounter.
Though no member criticised the government on the issue at the meeting on Friday, there are indications that some leaders are unhappy with the police action. When the matter comes up for discussion, the differences may come out. Speaking in the assembly on Thursday, the chief minister had termed the Maoist killings unfortunate, but backed the police personnel. He said the government has been engaged in attempts to bring the ultras to the mainstream.
The same day, the CPI state council had termed the incident a fake encounter. Coming down heavily on the police action, the CPI, the second largest constituent of the LDF, made its dissent evident. On Friday, a high-level CPI delegation which visited Manjakandi repeated that it was a fake encounter, thus landing the CPM in further embarrassment.