``The police does not have the ability to nab the poacher. Even the State DGP has openly declared that it is very difficult to nab Veerappan. If you (State Government) cannot nab him, write to the Centre and ask them to send the Army,'' said TMC MLA C Gnanasekaran, in a vociferous speech, while participating in the demands for grants to the police, fire service, and Prohibition and Excise Departments.

It was pathetic that ``an ordinary smuggler, Veerappan, is posing a challenge to the Government for many years'', he said. The State Government should take action against him with an iron hand and if necessary, the poacher should even be shot dead, he said.

Quoting a letterwritten to him by an advocate, Krishnaswamy, who was in Veerappan's custody for a few days last year, the TMC member said the poacher was indulging in guerrilla warfare and was assisted by an LTTE cadre, Ramasamy alias Krishnamurthy. Quoting further from the letter, he said Veerappan had plans to kidnap former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, former chief minister J Jayalalitha, TMC chief G K Moopanar, Karnataka MLA Vattal Nagaraj, former TN Minister K A Sengottaiyan, popular actors Rajkumar and Rajnikant, besides himself (Gnanasekaran), he said.

Another TMC member A Chellakumar said the State police had lost respect at the international level due to its incompetence in the operation. ``If you cannot nab him, admit it openly and entrust the job to the Army,'' he said, adding that the DMK regime, which had criticised the then AIADMK regime for its failure to nab the poacher, could not continue to do so as it was nearly three years since the DMK assumed office.