You said it, sir

‘A person who has killed over one forty people will not hesitate to kill to defend himself. Still he is a true hero (Suththa veeran), and a lion of the jungle. It is this lion which Gopal has met in its own den and come out successful!’

These were precisely the utterances of the Union Minister of State S.R. Balasubramaniam when he spoke at the felicitation function for the emissary held at the Kalaivanar Arangam last month. The same was reported by this paper and Maalai Sudar, the very next day itself along with the speeches of other luminaries who ‘graced’ the function.

True to the habit of politicians who blurt out in a hurry and deny in leisure, this minister has also the press for ‘misquoting’ him. Or probably the minister thinks what he said does not amount to glorifications. If phrases such as Suththa veeran, killed to defend himself and lion of the jungle does not sound eulogical, then pardon us, we are naive.  Naive, not only of the ways of brigands and investigative journalists but also of the so-called representatives of the people.

Though it was natural for a magazine to drive home to the hilt their only USP, the decision of several VIPs to attend the function, in the first place, and then to shower eulogies on the brigand and his friend emissary was both indiscreet and imprudent. Any one who attended the function would vouch for the pro-brigand mood that was all pervading during the entire four-hour drill. The euphoric references to the brigand, the demand for respect when addressing him, the brigand’s preference for BBC Tamil service were all indeed great revelations not just about the brigand, but of the mindset of the so-called eminents of the land.

And if the worthies who attended function claim they had no control over the flow of events, they are footing none. They could have easily seen it coming had they taken one cursory look at the invitation to the function, which had a liberal spread of the brigand’s photographs in various moods and profiles. May be, the minister may now try to wriggle out saying that he was invited over phone and so did not see the invitation!

The minister however cheerfully acknowledges that he did launch a tirade against former DGP Dawaram and again seeks to justify his slander. Does not riling Dawaram in the same breath with which he uttered the above unquotable quotes, convey and compound his pro-Veerappan mood on that day? Or conversely, has his anger against the former DGP blinded his better judgement and made him oblivious to the implications of his utterances? Any case, we do understand the present predicament which has prompted the vehement denial, for the ‘lion’, has indeed struck, and surely for self-defence. Sorry, we are on ‘mis’quoting the minister.

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