Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan (File Photo)
A DAY after an RSS worker was killed in Kerala, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday voiced concern over attacks on political workers in the state and said political violence was unacceptable in a democracy. He also spoke to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over phone. “I have expressed my concern over the law and order situation in the state of Kerala. Political violence is unacceptable in a democracy,” Singh said later in a tweet.
This came on a day Governor P Sathasivam summoned Vijayan and DGP Loknath Behera. Vijayan and Behera apprised the Governor of the steps taken in connection with the killing. “Summoned CM and State Police Chief to know about action taken by State govt on law and order issues in Trivandrum,” Sathasivam tweeted, adding that Vijayan assured him that the law-breakers would be sternly dealt with, irrespective of their political affiliation. Vijayan also told the Governor that he would be meeting Kerala BJP chief Kummanam Rajasekharan and the state RSS chief, according to a Raj Bhavan statement.
Police said seven persons, including prime accused Manikandan, a history-sheeter, had been arrested in connection with the killing of RSS worker Rajesh. They said the attack was due to “personal enmity” between the two.
In another incident, an RSS worker was injured Sunday night when he was attacked by some unidentified persons at Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district, the police said. The man, who received “minor injuries”, was taken to a hospital, they added. The state has been witnessing a cycle of violence involving the BJP-RSS and CPM workers with the capital district rocked by incidents of attacks on houses of the rival partymen in the last few days. The state BJP office was also vandalised on July 28.
Meanwhile, a statewide ‘hartal’ called by the BJP in protest against the killing of Rajesh evoked a near total response.
