Thiruvananthapuram: After a series of political murders in Kerala involving cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party (RSS-BJP) workers and the ruling Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM), the two sides are playing blame games.
On Sunday, federal finance minister Arun Jaitely visited the home of S. Rajesh, a local RSS leader who was killed recently in the outskirts of the Kerala capital.
But the CPM was also prepared for a similar exhibition of sympathy towards family members of those slain in political violence. In front of the Raj Bhavan, the residence of the state governor in the capital, family members of 21 people who were allegedly murdered by BJP workers sat in protest, demanding that Jaitely visit them and hear their pleas.
Speaking at a memorial meeting for Rajesh, Jaitely said political rivals of the BJP were behaving in a manner “more cruel than enemy nations”, adding that “cruelty was breaching all barriers”.
The BJP leader’s statements appeared to be a continuation of the statements of the party’s national leaders who have said in recent days that the CPM was using its political power in Kerala to brutally crush political opponents.
Last week, the national Parliament also witnessed uproarious scenes when the BJP and CPM leaders threw allegations at each other regarding the law and order situation in Kerala. Some CPM leaders in Kerala have alleged that the federal government was planning to impose President’s rule in the state.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said Jaitley’s visit to the home of murdered RSS leader Rajesh was “politically motivated”. He said the BJP government in Delhi was attempting to dismiss the democratically-elected government in the state.
