Thiruvananthapuram: The hugely popular Kerala state schools youth festival that is being held in Kannur district has been hit by a strike in the district called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest the murder of one of its party workers.
Kannur district, which witnessed a series of political killings in 2016, added to the list when BJP leader and the party’s Andaloor booth president E. Santosh, 52, was murdered on Wednesday night.
The attackers forcibly entered his house in Dharmadom and hacked him.
Santosh passed away while being rushed to hospital.
The BJP immediately called for a daylong strike on Thursday to protest the murder.
BJP leaders accused Communist Party of India — Marxist (CPM) cadres for the murder. The CPM denied the allegation.
The strike supporters had promised not to block the vehicles that were plying in connection with the schools youth festival, but on Thursday all vehicles were stopped by the striking BJP workers.
Trouble began on Thursday when police intervened after BJP supporters blocked public utility vehicles. This led to an altercation between the strikers and the police and BJP supporters squatted on the road as a mark of protest, blocking all vehicles.
There was also stone-pelting at the Centre of Indian Trade Union office at Taliparamba and an attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office.
Education minister C. Raveendranath said the strikers would not be allowed to disrupt the schools youth festival.
Thursday’s strike is the second major stoppage in a week in Kerala. On Tuesday, dalit organisations in Kottayam district held a strike to protest atrocities against members of the dalit community.
