BJP asks government to clarify stand on Nelliampathy

The government should clarify its stand on the pledging of forest lands and constitute an inquiry in the wake of the Nelliampathy issue, said the BJP leaders who visited Nelliampathy on Wednesday.

Addressing mediapersons here, BJP national executive committee member C K Padmanabhan and BJP state president Muralidharan, who took part in the visit, said that the people of Kerala were concerned about the activities of a section of estate owners in Nelliampathy, who were influencing government decisions to their benefit. C K Padmanabhan said that the Nelliampathy issue was not merely a legal issue, whether it is a forest or revenue land . The government should initiate legal action under the criminal procedure code against lease violators and take over the estates whose lease had expired, he added. Padmanabhan questioned the Chief Minister’s silence when his fellow Congress MLAs were being humiliated by Chief Whip P C George for opposing the encroachers on forest lands. This has only emboldened the land mafia, whether at Aranmulla or in Nelliampathy, he added.

The BJP will discuss the Nelliampathy issue in detail at the BJP state committee meet on August 12. Narayanan Namboodiri, BJP state committee member, and C Krishnakumar, BJP district president, were among the members who visited Nelliampathy.