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Cithara Paul
Cithara Paul

POLITICAL MURDERS

Kerala political violence: All-party meet to be held

pinarayi-vij-file-pti (File) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan | PTI

Amid increasing instances of political violence in the state, the CPI(M) government has decided to convene all-party meetings to find a solution.

The first of such a meeting will be held on August 6 in Thiruvananthapuram. Similar meetings will be held in Kannur district—the hotbed of political violence—and Kottayam, where sporadic instances have been reported.

A decision in this regard was arrived after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met leaders of all political parties, including BJP and Congress. The meeting was held amid escalating political tensions in the state. The meeting happened a day after the governor of Kerala met state police chief Loknath Behra and Pinarayi Vijayan over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

"The government will take strong steps against the perpetrators, regardless of their political affiliation," Vijayan told media persons after the meeting.

He also said that it was unfortunate that even houses and family members are not spared from political violence. He said everyone agreed to the suggestion of an all-party meeting. "A coordinated effort is needed to find a solution to the violence," he said.

BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan said that everyone should respect the different voices in a society. "Multiple voices and opinion are the basis of our culture. Everyone should respect that," he said.

The BJP had called for a hartal following the murder of an RSS activist, claiming that the CPM was behind the murders.

In between, journalists and camerapersons who had gathered outside the venue of the meeting in Thiruvananthapuram of Monday were asked to "get out" by the chief minister. Journalists accused the Vijayan of misbehaving with them.

The CM's office, however, issued a press statement saying that media persons were not invited to the peace meet.

Meanwhile, police teams investigating the case said that the motive of the murder was both political and personal rivalry. Eight accused have been arrested in connection with the case while a search is on for those absconding. This exposes the claim made by CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishna that the CPM had no role to play in Rajesh's murder.

The outburst of political violence had caught national attention with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressing concern over the killing. Singh, in a tweet, had said, "Spoke to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan regarding the recent incidents of political violence in the state. I have expressed my concern with the law and order situation in the state of Kerala. Political violence is unacceptable in a democracy. I expect that the political violence in Kerala is curbed and that the perpetrators are brought to justice expeditiously."

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