• The October 23 explosion at Kottaimedu in Coimbatore has created a political furore in Tamil Nadu with Hindutva groups coming up with multiple conspiracy theories.
  • With the investigation still at a nascent stage and the police yet to make a statement, State BJP president K. Annamalai launched a broadside against the State government. The former IPS officer-turned-politician tweeted that it was a “suicide attack” and a “clear-cut terror act with ISIS links”. He blamed it on intelligence failure too.
  • On October 26, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin decided to hand over the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Stalin’s unexpectedly swift move took the wind out of the sails of his detractors who had tried hard to politicise the incident.
  • The Tamil Nadu Police reacted sharply to Annamalai’s statements and charged him with “continuously indulging in a defamatory campaign against the Tamil Nadu Police even as the probe in the case was on”.
  • Various political parties have condemned the BJP’s accusations against the State police and the government.