Beef 'Raid': Kerala CM writes second letter to PM Modi, threatens legal action

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 30: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today wrote his second letter in three days to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Kerala House 'raid' episode pointing out legal violation by Delhi police and maintained that the state would resort to legal action if it did not receive a satisfactory reply from the Centre.

The state views the act of Delhi Police, who raided the state-run guest house on October 26, "as one of total disregard of niceties and refinement by the police which is controlled by the Centre in a constitutionally federal structure," he said.

The Chief Minister maintained in the letter that the state would resort to legal action if it did not receive a satisfactory reply from the Centre.

The Congress-led UDF government had yesterday threatened to take legal action over police 'raid' at Kerala House on complaints of cow meat being served there, if the "mistake" was not admitted, and said it had affected Centre-State relations.

"We are waiting for the reply from the Centre," Mr Chandy said while speaking at a meet-the-press programme here earlier in the day.

"I came to know that the Centre has taken a serious view of the incident. The Home Secretary has sought information from the Delhi Police Commissioner and Kerala House Resident Commissioner," Mr Chandy said.

He said Delhi police's explanation that they only did their duty and carried out an inspection in accordance with law was not acceptable to the state.

To a question, Mr Chandy said that cow slaughter was not an issue in the state. "There are many persons who consume cow meat. Similarly there are persons who do not consume it. But, no one in the state hurt the feelings of other persons over issues like this," he said.

Mr Chandy said BJP's "communal agenda" would not succeed in Kerala, as "securalism is embedded in people in the state." Slamming the "raid", Mr Chandy had on October 27 shot off a letter to PM Modi terming the episode "highly objectionable".

PTI