Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and Vijay Goel, along with other senior BJP leaders, marched in Delhi on Wednesday to protest against the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s alleged targeting of its party cadre in Kerala.
BJP president Amit Shah had on Tuesday flagged off a ‘Janaraksha Yatra’ in Kerala and had announced that a ‘ padyatra ’ would be held in all the State capitals from Wednesday over the issue of political violence in Kerala.
March on October 8
A party source said that Mr. Shah may take part in a similar march in the Capital on October 8.
During the protest, Mr. Singh said that the violence by the Left in Kerala was a “blot on Indian democracy”.
“The violence is not only against the BJP but also against other political parties that believe in democracy,” the Minister added.
The senior BJP leaders, along with city BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, Shahnawaz Hussain, and Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, marched from the city BJP office towards CPI(M) office on Bhai Veer Singh Marg.
They were stopped close to the Left party’s office at a police barricade.
Mr. Singh said that the protest was aimed at preserving the Gandhian principle of non-violence, democratic values, and the country’s culture. He also urged other political parties to pay heed to the violence allegedly perpetrated by “the Communists in Kerala”.
“Other parties should not be under the illusion that the violence in Kerala affects only the BJP. It is a blot and a curse on Indian democracy. The BJP has accepted this challenge to restore the Gandhian ideal of non-violence because violence cannot be a means to further political goals,” he said.
Goel blames police
Mr. Goel too hit out at the Kerala government and blamed the local police for the violence against BJP-RSS workers. “No justice can be expected in a State where a section of police maintains that they are Communists. It cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.
The BJP has alleged that as many as 120 of its workers have been killed in Kerala. The CPI(M) has, meanwhile, accused the BJP and the RSS of resorting to violence and denied the involvement of its government and leadership in the killings.
