THE tussle between the IAS and IPS top brass over the fireworks disaster at the Puttingal temple in Kollam last week is being construed as a bid to justify their positions ahead of a judicial probe and has come as an embarrassment to the government in the run-up to the assembly elections.

The spat between additional chief secretary (home) Nalini Netto and state police chief T P Sen Kumar over the temple fire, which claimed over 110 lives, has muddied the situation further. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has blamed the home department for the disaster with CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri  Balakrishnan demanding the resignation of home minister Ramesh Chennithala. This may also be dubbed as a failure of the government to effectively manage a crisis.

Revenue department personnel and the police have been accusing each other over the laxity in preventing the competitive fireworks display. The revenue administration has reiterated that it had banned the fireworks display but the district police had failed to execute the order in its true spirit. But the police refused to accept the blame.

The state cabinet has asked Netto to submit a report on the incident and she too put the onus on the police. According to the report, the state police ignored its own intelligence warnings and became mute spectators of the fireworks. The report also slammed the conduct of the police and recommended suspension of the Commissioner of Police of Kollam, ACP of Chathannur and CI of Paravur for dereliction of duty. But home minister Chennithala sought views of Sen Kumar on the home secretary’s report and this triggered a fresh row. The propriety of the home minister seeking the views of the state police chief on the home secretary’s report was questioned and the latter was reported to be sore over the decision. The home secretary herself expressed displeasure over the move to seek a fresh report from the DGP.

The UDF leadership has chosen to dismiss the decision as a routine procedure and has ruled out any difference of opinion among the officers. The lack of coordination between the two departments and their failure in assessing the ground situation would come for a thorough scrutiny during the probe.