Gurumurthy

Chennai, Dec. 9: Swadeshi Jagran Manch convener S. Gurumurthy was today questioned by Tamil Nadu police in the Shankar Raman murder case, in which the Kanchi seer has been arrested.

The special investigation team probing the murder summoned Gurumurthy ? an economic-issues ideologue for the BJP ? following articles he wrote for a newspaper that raised wider issues in the probe.

After the nearly two-hour-long questioning at the new SIT office behind the Kancheepuram police superintendent?s house, Gurumurthy said he was mainly asked ?on what basis? he had written the articles.

Asked if he gave any statement to the police, he shot back: ?I am no witness to anything, only a commentator.?

Gurumurthy, a newspaper columnist and chartered accountant by training, saw in his summons to the SIT office a ?warning? to the media not to be critical of police action.

The BJP today stepped up its state campaign for ?relieving? police superintendent Prem Kumar of the case and shifting it outside Tamil Nadu, amid speculation that the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt?s junior pontiff Vijayendra Saraswati might be questioned.

BJP national secretary Ela Ganesan said here today that they would press for both demands through statewide protests-cum-awareness meetings on Monday. ?We have no faith in the Tamil Nadu government.?

Ganesan also demanded that Kumar should not continue as SIT chief because ?he is a notorious police officer?.

The Jayalalithaa government had shunted out Kumar?s predecessor, Davidson, about 10 days ago after some ?Sangh parivar? outfits sought to make an issue out of his faith. Davidson is Christian.

Ganesan described as ?meaningless? tomorrow?s planned statewide agitation against his party by the DMK and its allies, the Congress and the Left parties.

By applauding the ADMK regime?s action in arresting Jayendra Saraswati, the state Opposition, and not the BJP, was trying to politicise the issue, Ganesan said.

The BJP, he added, had merely expressed its views on the arrest and subsequent developments showed there was ?something mysterious? about Raman?s murder.

Ganesan demanded to know how his party?s call for disclosure of the full truth in the case amounted to politicising or communalising the issue.