Under attack for not ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the violence that rocked Marad in 2003, former Kerala chief minister A K Antony on Wednesday justified his decision saying it was taken on the basis of legal advise received by his government.
"I had done everything possible at that time. I acted on the basis of legal advice that we got," Antony said, reacting to the findings of the Thomas P Joseph Committee that probed the killing of nine persons in Marad near Kozhikode in north Kerala three years ago.
The commission's report, tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday, severely criticised the then UDF government led by Antony for not ordering a CBI probe into the incident and found serious lapses on the part of the civil and police administration in Kozhikode during the period.
Antony, however, refused to elaborate saying, "I have not seen the inquiry commission report yet. I will give a detailed reaction in Thiruvananthapuram after going through the report."
The Indian Union Muslim League, which also faced flak for its activists' involvement in the violence, denied that its members were involved in carnage.
"We have not been named in the report. Nor any Muslim League activists were part of the violence. We expelled some of our members when it was found they were involved in the first clash," IUML General Secretary and Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed told PTI.
He also welcomed the ordering of a detailed into the 2003 carnage and said his party always stood for maintaining peace in the state.
