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BJP seeks Amit Shah’s intervention over recent killings in Kerala
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday attacked the Kerala government for failing to take action against the Popular Front of India (PFI)
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday attacked the Kerala government for failing to take action against the Popular Front of India (PFI). It blamed the PFI for at least two murders of the activists of the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the last two months.
BJP state unit president K Surendran said the party has apprised union home minister Amit Shah about the operations of a “fundamentalist group” and how no action has been taken by Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan government against the accused.
“Kerala is coming closer to becoming Syria; that is a general feeling,” Surendran said.
The PFI is an Islamic organisation, which follows a hardline ideology and is under the scanner for alleged financial wrongdoings.
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“There have been two brutal attacks in Kerala by the PFI. Sanjith (an RSS worker who was killed last week) was hacked to death. His autopsy showed more than 36 wounds. A police officer was a witness, but the Kerala Police were not able to block the traffic and conduct search. It is still groping in the dark,” said Surendran. He said a similar incident occurred in Trichur as well.
Surendra, who is in Delhi to meet Shah, alleged there is political patronage to the PFI. “In Kerala, there is a secret understanding between CPI (Communist Party of India) and PFI; they are hand in glove. The police are shielding them and people have lost their faith in them. We have briefed the Union home minister about the fundamentalist groups operating in Kerala. The government is not even naming it as a terror group,” he said.
On why the party has not sought a ban on the outfit, union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Law is a state subject…we are demanding free and fair investigation and prosecution of the guilty. Otherwise, criminal activities will flourish.” He added in the absence of action against criminals, the state’s economy is affected adversely. “The victim is Kerala’s economy and job creation in the state. Without prosecuting criminals, it creates an overall narrative that it is a weak, vulnerable economy. The opportunities for investment will also suffer as a consequence of appeasement politics.”
Another union minister V Muraleedharan, who is from Kerala, attacked the state’s Congress-led opposition and the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) led alliances for not raising their voice against PFI’s crimes. “In any part of the world, you can speak against religious terrorisms but not in Kerala. If you do, the so-called secularists start attacking those speaking the truth. This is what happened when the Bishop of Palla spoke about Love Jihad….the chief minister said it is for the first time he has heard the word.”
Muraleedharn said the Congress kept mum even when its worker was killed. “The situation is that no one dares speak out against Islamic terrorism and the reason is that the CPM and the Congress feel they will lose their vote share if they do so,” he said.
