Cleric at centre of Left rift has ‘terror link’

Abdul Nasser Madhani, the cleric who almost caused a split between the CPI(M) and the CPI, is now facing a probe into his alleged terror links, according to Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

Abdul Nasser Madhani, the cleric who almost caused a split between the CPI(M) and the CPI, is now facing a probe into his alleged terror links, according to Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

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The CPI(M) was at one point ready to dump its long-term ally, the CPI, to accommodate Madhani’s handpicked man in the Ponnani constituency in North Kerala. After a weeklong drama, the CPI had to shift to another constituency to accommodate Madhani’s wishes.

“The government will examine the reports that appeared in the media,” Achuthanandan said on Wednesday. Local dailies have reported Madhani’s alleged links with an accused in the Bangalore blasts.

The statement given by Mani alias Yousuf, a key witness in the Bangalore terror plot, disclosed that Madhani, who was an accused in the Coimbatore blasts case, had converted him to Islam in Coimbatore jail.

Madhani admitted that he had met Yousuf in jail but denied having converted him.