CHENNAI, May 11: The Tamil Nadu Government today convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday (May 14) to discuss about the continuing communal clashes in the southern districts of the state and the steps to be taken against recurrence of such incidents.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who rushed to the city cancelling his summer vacation at Udhagamandalam, tolo a press conference that leaders of political parties and communities had been invited for the meeting. He said that the government did not deal with the clashes firmly as it wanted to avoid deaths and injuries to innocent persons. It wanted to control clashes by `effective' political action, he said.

Referring to the bandh call given by some organisations in the southern districts, Karunanidhi appealed to the organisors not to go ahead with the bandh call as he had convened an all-party meeting, which would discuss all matters regarding the communal clashes threadbare. He said the police would provide adequate protection to those, who did not participate in the bandh. On the TMC's charge that its members were being made the specific target of attacks in the clashes, Karunanidhi said some persons utilised the clashes for settling scores of their previous individual and political enmities. Karunanidhi said he would decide about touring the riot torn areas after the all party meeting.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports R Dhanushkodi Adithan today called for streamlining of the Tamil Nadu police force to put an end to communal and caste-related violence being witnessed in the state time and again.

The changes should be affected from the top to bottom to improve the functioning of the police force, Adithan said, in an informal chat with presspersons at Tirunelveli. He said he had received reports alleging police inaction in violence-marred southern districts, even during the recent clashes at Sivakasi and other parts of Kamarajar district. He had already brought this to the attention of Director General of Police K K Rajasekaran Nair.

Asked if he was satisfied with the efforts taken by the government to tackle the situation, Adithan said the southern districts had been witnessing caste and communal conflicts for a long time. It would be wrong to hold the government alone responsible for the flare up. However, in towns like Sivakasi, people were afraid of venturing out of their houses and this only proved that the action taken so far had not been effective, he said and urged the government to speed up the police action to restore normality. He said TMC leader G K Moopanar and Union Ministers belonging to the party would undertake a tour of the violence-hit areas.

Adithan said the government should take effective steps to identify the forces which were behind the caste-related flare up and were instigating innocent people, particularly the youth, to indulge in anti-social activities.

He also urged the government to come out with announcement terming as illegal agitations like `road-roko' which caused much hardship to the general public.

The union minister also pleaded for steps to improve the functioning of the intelligence department, `by giving it due importance'. The recent incidents in the southern districts proved that the intelligence agencies had failed, he said.

Adithan suggested that the government, in order to check allegations of biased police action in the trouble-prone districts, should not allow police personnel and other officials to serve in their native districts. Many reforms, including provision of additional manpower, vehicles and advanced communication systems, should be introduced in the police department, he said.

The union minister regretted that youths were falling a prey to the tactics of vested interests and were getting involved in such clashes. To put an end to this, his department proposed to impart specialised training to the youths, including women. The scheme would be implemented in association with the state govt, he said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.