Govt gives in to Hindu request

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today described as ‘‘unwarranted and unfortunate’’ the Centre’s decision ...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today described as ‘‘unwarranted and unfortunate’’ the Centre’s decision to deploy security force at the office of the Hindu and at the residence of Editor-in-Chief N. Ram and demanded that the directive be rescinded.

In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said: ‘‘This direction of yours is absolutely unwarranted and extremely unfortunate. I presume you have not been posted with the correct information leading to this move. It will be extremely unfortunate if this precipitate action is taken.’’

	*When in Chennai, respect Ram rekha: Vajpayee*

	NEW DELHI: Before leaving for Moscow for the first leg of his three nation trip on Tuesday, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee denied that he has had talks with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa after the state Assembly’s decision to jail six senior journalists, including five from The Hindu newspaper. ‘‘I had no conversation with Jayalalithaa,’’ he said. To another question on his views regarding the move to jail the journalists, he said : ‘‘Everybody should respect the Lakshman rekha… in Chennai…Ram is living there,’’ in an apparent reference to the newspaper’s editor-in-chief N. Ram. (ENS)

Stating that Ram had been accorded ‘‘X’’ category security by the state, she said despatch of Central force would case ‘‘a malicious slur on the state and cause irreparable damage to the Centre-state relations’’.

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Earlier, N. Ram had appealed to Advani to provide Central security to its office and employees. Addressing mediapersons today, Ram said despite the SC’s stay on the arrest of his senior journalists, police are harassing the newspaper’s employees. Police personnel have been deployed for surveillance near the residences of some of the employees and they are also tracking the newspaper’s vehicles, he said.

N. Murali, joint managing director of the paper, has spoken to Governor P.S. Ram Mohan Rao over phone and his ‘‘response was immediate and positive,’’ Ram said.

Reacting to Ram’s charges against police action, DGP I.K. Govind said: ‘‘I am not aware of it.’’ Asked whether he had received the Supreme Court order staying the arrest of the journalists, he said: ‘‘I received it on Monday.’’

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