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Nayanar says Khurana doesn't know what he's talking about

Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar Thursday ridiculed Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana's statement that the state should have taken steps earlier to contain "terrorist organisations."

Khurana, he said, was not aware of ground realities.

The chief minister told the state assembly during question hour that the Kerala government had lodged its strong protest with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when Union Home Minister L K Advani made a similar statement.

Nayanar said his government would continue to take effective measures to deal with extremist forces. The government had sealed its border with Tamil Nadu in Palakkad to prevent infiltration of extremists. Special squads had also been formed to monitor their activities.

He, however, admitted that some extremist groups, with foreign links, were active in Kerala. But no political party which had representation in the state assembly was supporting their activities, he said.

Nayanar said the Kerala police have handed over to their Tamil Nadu counterparts all documents relating to People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Naseer Madani who has been arrested in connection with the Coimbatore blasts.

UNI

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