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Karunanidhi has not received Centre's letter on poor law and order

The Tamil Nadu government has not received any letter from the Centre alleging deterioration in law and order in the state, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said today.

Replying to a question from newspersons, he said: "We are in receipt of other letters concerning administrative issues, but no letter has been received alleging deterioration in law and order." The Union government has not cleared his request for sanctioning Rs 100 million to modernise the state police force, he added.

On the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the February 14 serial blasts at Coimbatore, he said the special police team constituted by the state government had nabbed a majority of the extremists belonging to the fundamentalist groups. Only one or two are yet to be arrested, he added.

Replying to another question, he said Home Minister L K Advani had appreciated the passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Activities Bill by the state assembly. He has stated that other states should follow Tamil Nadu's example, Karunanidhi pointed out.

Asked about repeated demands by Union ministers belonging to the All India Anna DMK and its allies for the dismissal of his government, the chief minister said the demand was purely political as there was no problem on the law and order front in the state.

Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha demanded Karunanidhi's resignation, alleging that he was inept and incapable of running the administration.

Referring to the boycott of courts by lawyers following the assault on a lawyer by the police, Jayalalitha said in a statement that the government was unconcerned about the "immobilisation" of the courts which was condemnable.

She said even after a week after the assault, the Karunanidhi government had not taken any step to resolve the issue amicably.

Jayalalitha, who visited the assaulted advocate Rajan in the hospital, alleged the police had attacked him with iron rods, causing severe injuries on his thigh. He had suffered injuries in other parts of his body and a fracture in his hand, she said.

She denied the chief minister's reported charge that she had incited the lawyers agitation.

She also denied that she was politicising the issue. The affected lawyer did not belong to any political party. It was condemnable that cases had been registered against 150 lawyers, many of them belonging to the AIADMK, for protesting against the assault, she added.

UNI

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