BJP and RSS leaders protested at the government headquarters in Kerala to demand action against the Left.
Highlights
- BJP says Kerala govt unnerved by its gains, allowing violence by the Left
- CPM accused BJP of trying to get 'sympathy votes' by blaming the Left
- 2 RSS activists have been attacked in the last month
BJP leaders, and those of its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, protested today at the government headquarters in Kerala to demand action against the Left whose supporters are accused of fatal attacks on members of other parties in recent weeks.
"CPM means the Communist Party of Murderers," alleged BJP leader H Raja at today's demonstration.
Elections in Kerala will be held in May; the Congress-led coalition hopes to make a comeback. The BJP says the Left is getting unnerved by its increasing gains, and that the government is allowing unrestrained violence by the Left with whom it colludes secretly.
Eight CPM workers were arrested today for assaulting BJP workers at a rally in Thiruvanthapuram on Monday. Policemen and their vehicles had also been targeted.
Last month, Sujith, an RSS worker, was hacked to death in Kannur; his elderly parents were injured when they tried to stop the assaulters who were armed with knives. For decades, Kannur, a stronghold of the CPM, has been a violent territory marked with killings and revenge murders between the cadres of the Left and the RSS. Though eight CPM supporters have been linked by the police to Sujith's murder, none have been arrested.
Earlier this month, an RSS activist AV Biju was attacked, once again in Kannur and with knives, as he drove children to school in an auto. He was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
Yesterday, Sunil Kumar, a leader of the Youth Congress, was hacked to death after being dragged out of his home in Alappuzha, 160 kms from the state capital of Thiruvanthapuram. Four supporters of the CPM have been arrested.
CPM leaders accuse the BJP of instigating attacks on Left activists in the hope of driving revenge killings and then profiting politically with "sympathy votes".
Speaking to NDTV, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala listed the CPM as a repeat offender. "Strong action will be taken. No violence will be accepted during election time," the minister said.