Kerala chief minister should quit for 'dog' remark, say people

Outraged by Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan's remarks against the family of commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed fighting terrorists in Mumbai, people across the country Tuesday demanded his resignation and some are planning a campaign against him.

Achuthanandan, who went to offer his condolences at the Bangalore house of National Security Guard commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan on Sunday night, was turned away by his father. The chief minister reacted sharply, saying that "even a dog would not have gone to their house if he had not been a martyr".

"These politicians should permanently go away from public life. They need to be responsible while making any public statement," said Hari Kumar P., an educational consultant and a resident of Kerala.

Journalist N.P. Chekutty told IANS from Kozhikode: "The comments are absolutely unacceptable and could create serious problems for the CPI-M in the country. It could also create problems for Keralites living outside Kerala."

The Communist Party of India-Marxist has expressed regret over the chief minister's remarks.

Supreme Court criminal lawyer Adolf Mathew said, "The chief minister has hurt national sentiments."

Some people in Bangalore are planning a campaign against Achuthanandan.

N. Vikram Sinha, a resident of Bangalore and a RTI activist, told IANS: "Politicians who make such kind of statements should take permanent retirement from politics."

Sinha is planning to start a campaign against the chief minister among people of his locality.

Stressing that everyone was angry with the Kerala chief minister and wanted him out, Sinha said: "Tomorrow the chief minister will go to a public meeting and praise Sandeep Unnikrishnan, calling him a son of Kerala. But Sandeep is the son of India, not of Kerala. My entire locality is angry with such politicians."

"The only thing our politicians are concerned about are votes, not the lives of people," he added.

Another Bangalorean, Anupama Mishra, admitted to being disillusioned with politics after witnessing Achuthanandan make such "poor political statements". "These politicians should be barred from ever returning to public life."

Nishant Sharma, a college student in Delhi, voiced the ire of the student community, saying: "All these politicians should be made to step down."

Sandeep Singh of Delhi said: "It is not acceptable at all. He (the chief minister) is a seasoned politician and should not have passed such nonsensical remarks. The chief minister should resign as soon as possible."

(471 Words)*02121750NNNN (IANS)

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