The Hindu : Front Page : No bias in deploying drivers: Kodiyeri

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Friday, Oct 17, 2008
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No bias in deploying drivers: Kodiyeri

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI/KOZHIKODE: Even as Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Thursday described as baseless reports of two Muslim police drivers being removed from Bharatiya Janata Party leader L. K. Advani’s motorcade during his visit to Kozhikode on Tuesday, the incident has given the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) a chance to once again express its concerns about the alleged discrimination against members of the Muslim community.

In a statement in New Delhi, Mr. Balakrishnan said the two Muslim drivers who were removed were among six extra drivers who participated in the rehearsal for the visit. Since all the six cars in Mr. Advani’s motorcade belonged to Superintendents of Police, it was finally decided that the drivers originally assigned to the senior officers would be used. The Minister said a large number of Muslim personnel were deployed at various points of Mr. Advani’s visit to Kozhikode. He described the controversy as an unnecessary one, maintaining that the State administration had shown no communal bias while deploying personnel for Mr. Advani’s visit.

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