Coimbatore is turning into den of extremists: BJP

COIMBATORE: The BJP on Thursday alleged that Coimbatore is turning into a den of extremists. Reacting to the arrest of the Kovai Arabic College president and faculty members, who were suspected to be ISIS sympathisers, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthiran asked if the city was becoming a haven for terrorist elements.He posted on his X handle that four people were engaged in the recruitment for the ISIS terrorist organisation under the guise of an Arabic College in Coimbatore. "The state govt tried to cover up the terrorist bomb attack near the Kottai Eswaran temple in Coimbatore city as a mere cylinder accident. However, the National Investigation Agency has been continuously arresting members of terrorist organisations from Coimbatore," said Nagenthiran.He added that there were continuous killings of elderly people. Temple idols were being damaged, he said. “The Dravidian model govt has put the entire area in and around Coimbatore under threat with the movement of terrorist organisations to a shocking extent, putting public safety in question,” he said.He said chief minister M K Stalin should explain why Coimbatore, which should be prosperous and full of industrial and educational resources, was turning into a haven for terrorism with law and order deteriorating.

Former BJP state president K Annamalai posted on his X handle: "Just a cylinder blast, they said. It turns out it was a full-blown ISIS-linked radicalisation and recruitment network operating under the nose of the DMK govt, and classrooms as terror factories.”“While the NIA is working tirelessly to dismantle these terror cells, the DMK continues to downplay threats, brushing off suicide bombing incidents as mere accidents. When appeasement replaces accountability, national security pays the price. TN deserves better,” he posted.