Udayakumar says he knows Hermann

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PMANE convenor, Dr S.P. Udayakumar, has accepted that he has had close connections for the past four years with German national Sonnteg Reiner Hermann, arrested from a Nagercoil lodge and deported to his home country on charges of raising funds for the anti-KKNPP movement.

Contrary to his statement on Monday that he did not know much about the German arrested from a Nagercoil lodge, he told DC on Tuesday that last year, Mr Hermaan participated in the annual day function of his SAACER matriculation school founded by him and his wife Meera.

Mr Udayakumar clarified that as he was not sure about the identity of the person arrested from Nagercoil, he told mediapersons on Monday that he did not know him. “Only this morning, I happened to see the photo and remembered Hermann,” he said.

Showing the school day function photo with the 50-year-old German, he added that he has had no connection with Mr Hermann for about a year.

When DC enquired about the same man on January 22, Mr Udayakumar had said he did not know much about him though the German introduced himself as a co-participant of Mr Udayakumar at a conference in Canada a year ago.

Moreover, another anti-KKNPP protest committee leader, Mr M. Pushparayan, had stated that he had met Mr Hermann at an anti-KKNPP demonstration at Koodankulam last July.

Retired ICAR scientist and species survival commission member of IUCN, Dr R.S. Lal Mohan, an anti-nuke who allegedly brought the German to Koodankulam, asked: “Is it illegal to have contact with an anti-nuke activist?”

Dr Mohan also wondered why the government sent Mr Hermann back to Germany without registering a case against him if they really believed he illegally brought money to instigate the anti-KKNPP movement.

A highly-placed IB official explained the German was deported as he was involved in the anti-KKNPP activities which is against immigration laws.