The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday criticised the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for failing to protect Janata Dal-United leader H Nagappa.
"Veerappan cannot be handled with kid gloves any more. The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments must get their act together so that he is cornered and apprehended," BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told rediff.com.
"The forest brigand has already done grievous damage. Any more indecisive handling by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is unlikely to be condoned by the people. Mere declaration of tough action will simply not do," Naqvi pointed out.
Asked about Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's comments that Nagappa had not died in the crossfire between security forces and the bandit, he said, "That is not the issue. The issue is that the Karnataka government's handling of Nagappa's abduction left a lot to be desired."
The party's leader in Karnataka, B S Yediyoorappa, said in Kollegal that Chief Minister S M Krishna had neglected the abduction issue and now the state was paying the price.
He alleged that some of the ministers were in contact with Veerappan and that was why the government was afraid to arrest the brigand.
With inputs from R Sadananda in Chamarajnagar