ALAPPUZHA: Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said meetings held under the state's anti-drug campaign, Operation Toofan, cannot be organised without informing the police or by involving persons with criminal backgrounds.
His remarks came in response to a recent meeting reportedly convened by senior Congress leader and Kannur MP K Sudhakaran as part of the anti-drug campaign, in which individuals allegedly facing criminal cases were said to have participated.
"Meetings under the banner of Operation Toofan involving goondas are highly unacceptable. It will never be accepted. Any meeting under the operation has to be held after informing the police," Chennithala said.
The minister said he had not discussed the matter with Sudhakaran but believed the MP was unaware of the nature of the gathering.
"I do not think he would have attended if he had known. He probably was not aware. Someone took him there," Chennithala told a television channel in Alappuzha.
According to sections of the media, the meeting allegedly included individuals facing criminal charges and known gang leaders, who were reportedly asked to support the government's anti-drug campaign.
Sudhakaran has not responded to the controversy so far.
Speaking to another television channel, Chennithala said Operation Toofan had made significant progress, with Kerala Police seizing banned narcotics worth more than Rs 60 crore within a month of the campaign's launch.
He said the initiative had grown beyond a government and police campaign, with the public increasingly joining efforts to eliminate drug abuse in the state.
The minister also warned those involved in drug trafficking and substance abuse to abandon such activities or face stringent police action.
Operation Toofan is the Kerala government's statewide anti-narcotics campaign, led by the Home Department and Kerala Police, aimed at curbing drug trafficking and substance abuse through coordinated enforcement and public awareness programmes.
(With inputs from PTI)