Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) leader Brinda Karat on Wednesday claimed that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is not a victim of political violence.
Her statement comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a Janaraksha Yatra from Kerala against the killing of the party and RSS cadre.
Karat hit back at the BJP, and told ANI, "From 2000 to 2016, 85 leaders and workers and supporters of CPI-M have been brutally killed by the RSS people, so RSS is not a victim."
BJP has accused CPI-M-Congress alliance government of promoting the killings of RSS workers in Kerala.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who is on a Kerala visit, stated that violence under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is increasing and an environment of Jihadi terrorism is prospering in the state.
Karat responded to this charge by saying that "what baton is Yogi Adityanath to take? Their relay race is a race of violence, of terror, of intimidation, and of bulling because these are all encounter specialists".
She added that the UP CM should learn from the hospitals and health system in Kerala, in order to help the poor children of his own place, Gorakhpur.
"In this so called Yatra of Amit Shah, he thinks a lie told a thousand times will become the truth, but that is not going to be happen," Karat weighed in on the Janaraksha Yatra launched by BJP president Amit Shah.
"People of Kerala know that RSS is not a victim. It is the RSS and its goons who are responsible for disturbing communal harmony in Kerala, but the people have not allowed them to succeed," Karat added.
BJP president Amit Shah launched the Janaraksha Yatra in Kerala on Tuesday to take on the CPI-M ruled government in the state.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)