CPM using cadres to eliminate' Kerala rivals, says Jaitley

Thiruvananthapuram: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday hit out at the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala for the political violence in the state, and accused it of “using” its cadres to “eliminate” the workers of rival parties. He claimed that Kerala always witnessed a spurt in political violence whenever a Left Democratic Front government came to power, and that the onus of putting an end to the culture of violence lay with it. “The state government must ensure that perpetrators of such heinous crimes are brought to book and the police is fair,” he said at a press conference.

At a condolence meeting here after visiting the family members of slain RSS worker Rajesh Edavakode, Mr Jaitley said the RSS and BJP could not be suppressed with violence, and asked the CPI(M) to “introspect”. He also questioned the “complete silence” on the “continuing saga of violence in Kerala” of those who otherwise speak against any similar incidents elsewhere in the country.

Read: Free, fair probe needed to end political violence: Arun Jaitley

CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged, meanwhile, that political violence had increased in the state after the visit of BJP president Amit Shah in early June. The BJP, he said, was implementing “Amit Shah’s plan” in Kerala by attacking party strongholds.