Rattled by RSS/BJP rise in Kerala, Marxists seem to back physical elimination of rivals
Kerala is yet to come out of the shock inflicted by the brutal murder of a 34-year-old RSS worker, Rajesh, on Friday, allegedly by a CPI(M) killer gang, and the attacks on the houses of BJP leaders, corporation councillors, activists and sympathisers since July 27 in the capital, Thiruvananthapuram. But the State's lDF Government led by the Marxist party seems to be taking an everything-is-fine attitude. Concerns are already being expressed that Thiruvananthapuram is no more just the administrative capital of Kerala but also the State's capital of the Marxist tyranny, a status owned so far by Kannur, where many BJP-RSS activists have become victims of the ruthlessness of the CPI(M) under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, considered by critics as one of the chieftains of the party's ‘Kannur tribe’. The alarming situation forced Governor P Sathasivam to take the extraordinary step of summoning the Chief Minister, a senior Politbureau member of the CPI(M) and police chief loknath Behera, to the Raj Bhavan, and demanding a report on the state of the law and order situation. It also prompted Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh to remind the Chief Minister that political violence was unacceptable in a democracy. leftist intellectuals, lawyers and political analysts have already started a campaign, saying the Governor has no right to interfere in a State's law and order affairs and that it is a serious violation of the federal principles of Indian democracy. For a change, the police has acted promptly in the case of the murder of the RSS functionary, by nabbing nine of the 10 members of the killer gang, including its history-sheeter leader, within 24 hours of the killing. The CPI(M) claims it had no role in the murder. However, this position does not surprise Keralites as they have seen the Marxists embark on a misinformation campaign after every such incident. They would keep claiming innocence but when the culprits are caught, which is rare, they would collect funds to argue the accused’s case. This has happened several times, and the case of the murder of Marxist rebel TP Chandrasekharan — whom Vijayan described as Kulamkuthi, betrayer of the tribe — in Kozhikode district over five years back, is just one example.
The Marxist violence against BJP-RSS in Kerala’s capital cannot be seen as an accidental political development. It has come in the background of a big growth in the RSS’s/BJP's popularity and influence there, which led to the opening of account by that party in the State Assembly with the victory of senior leader O Rajagopal in Nemom constituency within Thiruvananthapuram district; the pushing of the left into the third position in the 2014 lok Sabha poll; and the sparkling performance the BJP had put up in the last Thiruvananthapuram Corporation election. The violence in Thiruvananthapuram seems to be the inevitable outburst of the Marxist intolerance in this context as the communists are losing the ground beneath their feet — like it happened in West Bengal. However, it would be good for them if they realise that modern-day societies do not tolerate tyranny and political savagery.