Krishna okayed Nedumaran: Karunanidhi

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, OCT. 19. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, today said that his Karnataka counterpart, Mr. S.M. Krishna, had approved of sending the Tamilar Desiya Iyakkam president, Mr. P. Nedumaran, as an emissary to negotiate with brigand Veerappan for the release of Kannada actor, Mr. Rajkumar.

The Chief Minister's clarification came amid continuing controversy over the choice of Mr. Nedumaran and the remarks of the Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, yesterday, that sending an emissary with LTTE connections was Tamil Nadu's decision.

Detailing the developments that led to Mr. Nedumaran joining the emissary team, Mr. Karunanidhi told the media here that Veerappan had sent a message that Mr. Nedumaran, Prof. Kalyani and Mr. Sukumaran should be sent as emissaries. Immediately, he had asked the Nakkeeran Associate Editor, Mr. Kamaraj, to go to Bangalore and discuss the issue with the Karnataka Chief Minister.

The emissaries held negotiations with Veerappan only after Mr. Krishna spoke to Mr. Nedumaran and gave his approval. ``I do not wish to discuss the issue further as only the release of Mr. Rajkumar is important, '' Mr. Karunanidhi said.

Next mission delayed?

Mr. Nedumaran, when contacted, refused to comment on the controversy. However, his inclusion in the emissaries' team is likely to delay the next mission to the forests to secure the release of Mr. Rajkumar. Mr. Nedumaran said his next mission had not been finalised yet.

The schedule of the proposed meeting with Mr. Krishna too has not been decided, Mr. Nedumaran said. It is learnt that the team has not received any message from the Karnataka Government on the meeting schedule.

Meanwhile, the journalist-emissary, Mr. R.R. Gopal, detailing his last mission in the latest issue of Nakkeeran said that the Veerappan team had informed them that the release of Mr. Rajkumar would depend on the two Governments' speedy follow-up measures on their assurances.

According to Mr. Gopal, the emissary team was prepared to undertake another mission ``any moment'' to resolve the crisis.

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