Thiruvananthapuram: Succumbing to pressure from the coalition partners, the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala decided to probe into the meeting of senior IPS officer M R Ajithkumar with RSS top leaders.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked state police chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb to probe into the matter.
Ajithkumar, who is holding the key post of Additional DGP (Law and order) had called on RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on May 22 and BJP-RSS leader Ram Madhav on June 2.
Even as CPI and RJD, which are coalition partners of the CPM, have been demanding action against the IPS officer, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been dilly dallying on the matter. The CPI(M) leadership also tried to downplay it.
But the CPI continued to intensify their stand as the IPS officer's meeting with RSS-BJP leaders was also alleged to be part of a conspiracy to create disruption in the famed Thrissur Pooram festival just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and thereby giving electoral advantage to the BJP. BJP won the Thrissur seat by defeating CPI leader Sunil Kumar and hence the CPI took a strong stand on the matter.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Chief Minister could be even trying to buy more time by initiating a fresh probe into the matter especially since he had been maintaining that action could be taken against an officer only on the basis of enquiry reports. Already a probe was ordered against a series of allegations including involvement in smuggling activities against Ajithkumar and the time limit given to the inquiry was one month, which will end by next week.
The Chief Minister is widely accused of trying to protect the IPS officer by not even shifting him from the key post despite ordering probes against him. Opposition Congress even alleged that the IPS officer mediated with BJP-RSS for scuttling probes by central agencies into various allegations against the Chief Minister and her daughter.
Published 25 September 2024, 15:54 IST