Kerala: Undeclared hartal had terror links, says BJP state general secretary

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP state general secretary M T Ramesh alleged that the undeclared hartal and violence in Kerala had links with the Islamic State. “Posters prepared by Sri Lankan organisation ‘Aadhil AX - The Sri Lankan Social Media Activist’ calling for justice to the Kashmiri rape victim was circulated on WhatsApp, triggering violence. This organisation’s FB page was blocked based on a request by Interpol citing its terror links. The organisation had a role in the racial violence in Sri Lanka,” Ramesh told media persons here on Monday.

Ramesh said the Kerala Police did not probe the link between the organisation and Kerala’s SDPI. “The Kerala Government is trying to limit the probe to some WhatsApp groups. This is an attempt to sabotage the case. As the case has international terror links, it should be probed by the NIA,” he said.

Ramesh said the hartal and violence showed Kerala was in the grip of extremist elements. “Two temples were destroyed in Malappuram district. Still, there was a planned attempt to link the RSS with the attack. There are reports that terrorists had influence in some media organisations,” he said.Ramesh asked the government should compensate people who suffered damages in the hartal. He also welcomed a probe into whether Hindu extremist forces had a role in the attacks.