THE BJP is trying to spin a false narrative in Kerala about the increasing attacks on BJP and RSS workers. The BJP president Amit Shah has announced a five member team headed by one of its general secretaries Bhupendra Yadav to visit Kerala to enquire about the growing “incidents of attacks on BJP workers”.

This move comes in the background of the national council meeting of the BJP scheduled to be held in Kozhikode in Kerala from September 23 to 25. In the run up to this meeting, the BJP is seeking to target the CPI(M) and the LDF government alleging that they are responsible for these attacks which have, according to them, increased after the LDF government came to power.

But this false narrative cannot be sustained and will lose all credibility when the facts on the ground become known to the people outside Kerala.

Four CPI(M) workers and supporters have been killed by the RSS-BJP gangs since the LDF won the elections. C V Raveendran in Dharmadam, Kannur, Sasikumar in Thrissur district, Dhanaraj in Payannur, Kannur and Suresh Kumar, DYFI worker in Thiruvananthapuram district were targeted and killed. Scores of LDF workers and supporters were injured in these attacks.

As to who sparked off these violent assaults can be understood from the fact that the day the assembly election results were announced, a BJP-RSS gang attacked the victory procession in Pinarayi Vijayan’s constituency in Dharmadam. This resulted in the death of Raveendran. The intention of the BJP-RSS combine became evident with this first attack after the LDF victory. This was followed by a spate of attacks not only in Kannur district but in other places too. The second death of Sasi Kumar in Thrissur district occurred during these attacks.

Of the four CPI(M) workers killed, two were in places outside Kannur. This shows that the violence is not Kannur centric but the BJP-RSS combine has aggressively targeted the CPI(M) cadres and workers in different parts of Kerala. In this context, the recent throwing of a crude explosive object at the BJP state office in Thiruvananthapuram seems to be a provocation meant to incite more trouble.

After raising high expectations, BJP-RSS units in Kerala were frustrated with the election results. The victory of the Left Democratic Front which is a staunch defender of secularism and a foe of the communal forces has provoked them to the path of violent attacks. That this will not succeed in helping them to expand their political influence is clear from the history of Kannur district. The RSS led BJP has been consistently trying to expand its political base and influence in Kannur through the use of armed gangs. But over the decades the BJP has been unable to become a major factor in the politics of the district.

The LDF government is working on a proposal to ban the activities of RSS shakas in temples which provide weapons and physical training. The RSS has been concentrating on holding shakas in temples where lathi and sword training is conducted. This has further aroused the ire of the RSS-BJP combine.

The CPI(M) has been conducting a mass campaign against the Hindutva communalism and other communal forces. Recently it conducted a five day mass campaign under the slogan of “we are one” to commemorate the birth anniversaries of social reformers Chattambi Swami and another great social reform figure Ayyankali. These celebrations were held in two thousand centres across Kerala and saw the participation of lakhs of people. The RSS and the BJP are finding it difficult to purvey their communal message to the people in the face of this powerful counter-campaign. This is one of the reasons for the assaults on the CPI(M) workers.

The BJP, and more importantly the RSS leadership, should realise that the path they have adopted in Kerala is futile and counter-productive. The CPI(M) on its part has called for an end to this politics of violence. The Party and the government will certainly talk to the BJP leadership to ensure peace if they respond to this appeal.
(September 14, 2016)