BJP president Amit Shah, on Tuesday, slammed Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala saying that each time the Left Front came to power in the state, it triggered a cycle of violence.
Shah pointed out that more than 120 BJP and RSS workers were killed in Kerala, of which 80 murders took place after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's assumed power. The BJP president held Vijayan responsible for the incidents and said the Communist leader should be made answerable to people for the murders.
The BJP President, who was in Kerala to inaugurate the Jana Raksha Yatra at Payyannur in Kannur, was accompanied by other BJP leaders. He visited the Rajarajeshwara temple in Taliparamba, before heading to inaugurate the 15-day long march against what the party termed "red terrorism". The march will conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on October 17.
Vijayan snaps at BJP for equating CPM with Maoists
Meanwhile, a heated war of words sparked off between the Pinarayi Vijayan and union minister Prakash Javadekar over the latter's remarks on Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPM) and its rule in Kerala.
Chief minister Vijayan on Monday said that the attempts of the BJP to equate democratically functioning CPM with Maoists was irresponsible.
Javadekar had alleged that CPM was involved in "murder politics" that led to the deaths of several BJP and RSS workers. He added that the 'M" in CPM now stood for 'Maoists' and not 'Marxist'.
Javadekar's comments came in response to a Facebook post by Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday, which in turn was triggered by RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat's statement a day before.
Mohan Bhagawat on Saturday said, "Jihadi elements are acting out their violence in Kerala and Bengal, and while people are resisting, the state governments are supporting these anti-national forces by not fulfilling their duty, they (state governments) are on their side."
In a strong reaction to Bhagwat, Vijayan said that by alleging that Kerala was helping anti- national elements, the RSS leader was only repeating their agenda and the "formula to categorize people and create divide."
Javadekar grabbed this comment and retorted that CPM had always engaged in political murders in Kerala. "Even in West Bengal, their track record was bad, but in Kerala particularly, the Communist Party is not Communist Party-Marxist, it is Communist Party-Maoist. They believe in violence, they use violence as a tool," he said.
Vijayan was even sharper in his reaction to the union minister. Calling it a "smokescreen," the Kerala chief minister said that Javadekar was just trying to drum up "cheap publicity stunt" for the Jan Raksha Yatra. "The irresponsible statement by Javdekar equating democratically functioning CPI (Marxist) party with Maoists is highly condemnable," Vijayan said.
