Heads may roll over security fiasco during Singh's visit

Thiruvananthapuram: The humiliation suffered by Kerala police when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's motorcade lost its way is showing no signs of easing with speculation rife that some heads could roll over the issue.

The mess up happened on Tuesday night when the pilot car driven by a taxi driver, identified as Shiju, took a wrong turn at the Asan Square in the city and the convoy of the premier followed suit and had to be diverted back to the planned route.

To make matters worse Shiju, who was taken into custody for interrogation by the prime minister's Special Protection Group, was admitted to a private hospital on Wednesday after he complained of uneasiness and high blood pressure.

State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who cut short his Delhi visit and rushed to the state and personally apologised to the prime minister, has said that the matter was being viewed with all seriousness.

The biggest question that the state police have to answer is how a taxi driver could ever be in the prime minister's convoy, particularly when there are about 2,000 drivers including many who are specially trained to drive around leaders under high security cover in the Kerala police.

Political circles estimate that the major slip up in the security accorded to someone as important as the prime minister, may also have some political repercussions with the pressure likely to be turned on Kodiyeri Balakrishnan himself.

Hours ahead of the government receiving the inquiry report on the incident from Additional Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose, there was no hint of any shake-up in the political leadership, but all indications are that some senior police officials will have to pay a price for the incident.

Apart from the security fiasco, the 50th anniversary celebrations of the state's formation turned out to be a forgettable event in every sense. Besides the prime minister's convoy losing its way on arrival in the state, the public meetings Singh addressed turned out to be damp squibs.

At the function where Singh inaugurated the new terminal construction for the international airport, most of the seats lay vacant as people kept off the function, perhaps turned off by the stringent security regulations. In the evening the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium where a public function to mark the state's golden jubilee was organised, also witnessed empty stands and the children who were performing cultural events appeared too tired after having been in the stadium from noon onwards.

Karunakaran denied entry to stadium

Former chief minister of Kerala and Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) leader K. Karunakaran was on Wednesday denied entry into the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium here, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the state's anniversary celebration.

A disappointed Karunakaran blamed the organisers and said he was "saddened" by the turn of events.

"Among all the living chief ministers of Kerala over the past half century, I was the only one not present there," he said.

Karunakaran also criticised the manner in which the security of the prime minister was handled during his visit. "I don't understand how the home minister could have been away. He should have been present when the prime minister was here. The incident must be probed thoroughly and the guilty brought to book," Karunakaran said.

Karunakaran had gone to the special gate of the stadium for top leaders, but the security men posted there denied him entry.