Chennai: A Central Minister has contested the State government’s decision to transfer the idol wing cases to the CBI. “IG (of Idol Wing police) Pon Manickavel has been doing a good job and is competent to handle the case,” Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan said. The BJP, he asserted, is firm on the Idol Wing police under the IG, continue the investigation.
Opposing the decision to transfer the cases to CBI, Mr. Radhakrishnan told reporters in Kuzhithurai in Kanyakumari district, “As far as I am concerned, IG Pon Manickavel has functioned efficiently. He has to his credit the unique distinction of bringing home the idols smuggled several years ago – an achievement that is unimaginable. Even the Madras high court has been supportive of his efforts. Only the Centre will decide on the issue of transferring the cases to CBI at this juncture,” he said while lauding the IG. On Aug. 1, the State government informed the Madras High Court of its decision to transfer the cases to CBI and on the same day a government order to this effect was issued.
Meanwhile, the state government’s decision to transfer the idol theft cases to the CBI drew flak from the BJP national secretary H. Raja too. “Why should the government which opposed the transfer of the Srirangam Rangarajan idol missing case to the CBI in 2016, now transfer the idol theft cases to the CBI following the arrest of additional commissioner of HR & CE Kavitha (by the Idol Wing police)?” he asked.
Replying to a tweet by BJP’s South Chennai district president ‘Dolphin’ Sritharan, Mr. Raja said, “Good question Sritharan. How can the government be trusted when it had not taken action even after the high court had directed it on Feb. 12, 2018, to evict encroachers and retrieve temple properties within six months?”
Reacting to the issue, Mr. Sritharan had tweeted “Pon Manickavel has not furnished any report since the last one-and-a-half years. We don’t have faith on him: Govt. Perhaps, he did not submit any report, since he had no faith on the govt…shall we ask?”
