NEW DELHI, July 26: Notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan can boast of at least one supporter for his act of holding two state governments - Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - to ransom. And that is none other than Bandit Queen turned politician Phoolan Devi.``Veerappan is a very intelligent person. It is a sensible thing that he is putting his demands in clear terms before releasing the nine Karnataka forest officers. He should surrender only after the government agrees to his terms or else he will be taken for a ride as me,'' says the Samajwadi Party member of Parliament (MP).Phoolan Devi, once the terror of Chambal ravines, had surrendered before the Madhya Pradesh Government in 1983 on the condition that all would be forgiven and forgotten. ``But look what happened to me. I had to stay in jail for 11 years without even a trial. If one surrenders, the government has to forgive him. Probably Veerappan realises the hypocrisy of the government and wants to be sure,'' she adds.Veerappan has reportedly given the state governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu 10 days to respond to his demand of ``general amnesty''. He is adamant that only if the two states agree to his demand would he free the nine forest officers being held hostage by him. Or else he has threatened to kill them.``Had I been the Chief Minister of Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, I would have agreed to his demand in lieu of surrender and release of the officers. Or probably settled for some kind of token punishment. After all criminals should be punished. Law cannot be taken lightly,'' adds a seemingly confused Phoolan Devi with the politician in her coming to the fore.Phoolan Devi feels flattered that Veerappan considers her his ``heroine and ideal'', as he is reported to have said. And that he also wants a movie to be made on his life as it was made on Phoolan Devi.Laughing, she says, ``Why not? They can make a movie on him too but he cannot force anybody for this. I never asked for a movie to be made on my life and did not want it either. But they made it.''STF against amnestyThe members of the Karnataka Special Task Force (STF) are agitated over the Government's move to grant amnesty to the dreaded forest brigand, Veerappan.Speaking to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, the officers who were part of the STF for many years said, ``This is ridiculous. How can you offer amnesty to a person who has killed nearly a hundred people''.The personnel have said ``We are ready to go back to the jungles to nab Veerappan and release the nine hostages. It is left to both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Government to take up the offer''.
