A most controversial, but powerful Home Minister

Arjun Raghunath
The New Indian Express
Dec. 23

Thiurvnanthapuram : The decades long political innings of K.Karunakaran has not only
earned him the fame of being a shrewd politician, but also a
controversial and powerful Home Minister Kerala has ever witnessed.

If it was the Rajan case that opened his episode of controversies in
the 1970s, the ISRO espionage case during the 1990s came towards the
fag end of Karunakaran in power. Karunakaran was even forced to
resign as Chief Minister in 1977 after the missing of Kozhikode
Regional Engineering College student Rajan snowballed into a major
controversy. In the case of ISRO espionage case, the alleged
involvement of the then IG Raman Srivastava, a close confident of
Karunakaran, in the case had put the leader in a tight spot while he
was the Chief Minister.

Despite the controversies, Karunakaran had been widely accepted as a
powerful Home Minister as well. Though a Congress man, Karunakaran, as
the Home Minister never mixed up politics with routine policing, but
was were well updated of what was going on in the department, recalls
the senior police officials in the State. Even in case of any pressure
from Congress men to take action against any police official,
Karunakaran acted only after considering the merits. Indeed he was
aware of the merits and demerits of each police personnel. Moreover,
he never allowed his party men to boss the police.

The expertise of Karunakaran in policing was evident in 1982 while he
was serving as the Chief Minister and Vayalar Ravi holding the Home
portfolio. While a communal violence broke out in the state,
Karunakaran was said to have played a key role in bringing the
situation under control. In case of crisis situation, Karunakaran
ensured his direct intervention into the arrangements of the police.
The tense situation that erupted following the Babri Masjid is an
instance. Though recovering after the car accident, Karunakaran
personally reviewed the security arrangements.

He used to take police officers into confidence. There were certain
IPS officer who were identified to as close confidants of Karunakaran.
Jayaram Padikkal, T.V.Madhusoodanan, Raman Srivastava and M.G.A.Ramen
are among them.

Karunakaran earned the wrath of a section in the police for giving out
of the turn promotions. There had been several instances of junior
officers being given promotions over looking the seniority of others.
For this reason there used to be a certain group of cops who pretend
themselves as coterie of Karunakaran while he served as the Home
Minister. This had invited widespread resentment in the police force.
The appointment of Jayaram Padikkal as DGP over looking the seniority
of T.V. Madhusoodanan, while Karunakaran was holding the Home
portfolio, had also sparked off a controversy.

"I am a Congress man and will die as a Congress man. If you do
Congress some favour, I will be happy. But you should always remember
that you are a police officer," Karunakaran had once told, recalls a
police officer.

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