Political violence has gripped Kerala for the last few days. And on Monday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan invited more controversy by shouting at mediapersons at a hotel where he was scheduled to hold "peace talks" with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The CM wanted the mediapersons to leave the venue -- Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram.
Read more: Thiruvananthapuram RSS worker hacked to death; 8 accused detained
"Who let them in?" the angry CM asked the hotel manager. He lashed out at the scribes and shouted, "Get out". Pinarayi Vijayan entered the venue only after the journalists and cameramen, who were reportedly invited to cover the meeting left.
Meanwhile, via his recent Facebook post, Pinarayi Vijayan has clarfied that the media was not invited to cover the meeting.
The peace meeting was called following the murder of an RSS activist in the capital city late on Saturday. It also saw the presence of BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, MLA O Rajagopal, RSS leader Gopalankutty and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Also read: 3 arrested for attacking Bineesh Kodiyeri's house [VIDEO]
During the meeting, the leaders decided to avoid violence and hold more talks involving both the parties. An all-party meeting will be held at 3 pm on August 6 to discuss the latest violent incidents in the state. An awareness drive will also be conducted by the parties for the cadres to avoid similar incidents in future.
On Sunday, the BJP had conducted a hartal and Pinarayi Vijayan and DGP Loknath Behera were summoned by Governor P Sathasivam to Raj Bhavan.
"Summoned Chief minister @CMOKerala and State Police Chief to know about action taken by State govt on law and order issues in Trivandrum. Law breakers will be sternly dealt with, irrespective of status or political affiliation, CM @CMOKeralaassures me at Kerala RajBhavan today," the Governor had tweeted on Sunday.
"Chief minister @CMOKerala informed that culprits in murder of RSS worker in Trivandrum arrested &that lawbreakers will be sternly dealt with. Chief minister @CMOKerala said he'd have meeting with @KummanamRajasekharan and State RSS chief and make public appeal to maintain peace [sic]," he added.
Read Pinarayi Vijayan's Facebook post here:
Watch the video of Pinarayi Vijayan shouting at mediapersons here:
Watch full video HERE
