Over 120 BJP-RSS workers killed since Left came to power: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday attacked the CPI(M) and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the political murders of BJP and RSS workers+ in the state.

"Communist Party should be ashamed, most murders took place in the chief minister's area. Over 120 BJP-RSS workers have been killed+ since Communists came to power," Shah charged ahead of a protest march against the CPI(M) in Delhi.

The BJP president, who skipped the Jan Raksha Yatra against the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala, will be spearheading a similar rally to protest against the alleged killings of right-wing activists in the southern state.

Commending party cadres for their show of strength against the Left, Shah said workers had not been discouraged in spite of the many atrocities inflicted on them in Kerala.

"Life can be taken with a bullet, but bodies of our workers were chopped to pieces to instill fear. Even then we aren't scared of sacrifice," he added.

Shah appealed to all the state units to commit to Satyagraha and hold peaceful protest rallies in their respective states to oppose the "Left party's politics of murder".

Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari, Vice President and incharge of Delhi Shyam Jaju, party's national office bearers, MPs, MLAs, MCD Leaders, and state office bearers will join the two km long Yatra from Connaught Place to the office of the CPI(M).

Kerala has been witnessing violence involving the workers of the BJP-RSS combine and the CPI(M). The two opposing sides have faced killings of their workers and attacks on their offices.

Several political killings have been reported in the state since the Left Democratic Front government led by the CPI(M) came to power in May 2016. Both sides charge the other for the violence.