Jaitley slams ruling CPI(M) in Kerala for violence

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday slammed the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala for the political violence in the state, accusing it of "using" its cadres to "eliminate" rival party workers.

At a condolence meeting here after visiting the family members of slain RSS worker Rajesh Edavakode, he said the RSS and the BJP could not be suppressed through violence.

He also questioned the "complete silence" on the "continuing saga of violence in Kerala" of those who otherwise speak against any similar incidents in other parts of the country.

Jaitley charged the CPI-M with using its cadres to "eliminate its political opponents and creating an environment of violence" and added that the party needed to "introspect".

The minister blamed the ruling party there for the recent upsurge in violence in the state which saw the brutal killing of Rajesh by a gang on July 29 and attack on houses of several BJP and RSS workers.

Jaitley, whose visit to the state was widely seen as an attempt by the BJP to bring into national focus the issue of alleged increasing attacks on his party's cadres by the CPI-M, said that the LDF government was yet to take steps to check such incidents.

CPI-M state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, however, alleged that the political violence had increased in the state after the visit of BJP President Amit Shah in early June.

While the state was blessed with the nature's bounty, the challenge for any government would be how to make it the most prosperous in the country, Jaitley said.

"But if the policy gets diverted and the prime concentration is to use the cadres of the ruling party to eliminate political opponents and create an environment of violence, then the party in power has to seriously introspect," the minister said.

Jaitley, who visited the house of Rajesh, said the "karyakarta was "brutally butchered" and had 70-80 wounds on his body.

Even an enemy of the country did not do this, he said, adding political workers of a rival political party were involved in this.

"We are here to mourn the killing of Rajesh, whose sacrifice will remain with with us and inspire every karyakarta. We now owe a duty to his family to look after them," he said.