Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive committee member C.K. Padmanabhan has accused Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan of grievous dereliction of duty in ensuring law and order in his home constituency of Thalassery.
Mr. Padmanabhan said at a press conference here on Wednesday that the situation in and around Thalassery following the killing of two BJP activists a few days ago was explosive. The authorities should wake up to the gravity of the situation there. Mr. Balakrishnan should recall the situation a few years ago following incidents of political violence in the region, he said.
Mr. Padmanabhan, who visited the houses of the slain party activists in the morning, said Mr. Balakrishnan should have taken the initiative to convene a peace meeting in the wake of the killings.
The BJP had abstained from the peace meetings convened by the district administration because they were a farce. The party would only attend one if it was called by the Home Minister.
Mr. Balakrishnan being a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member had an added responsibility since the accused in the case belonged to his party. But as in the past, the Minister had remained passive.
Mr. Padmanabhan said being a ruling party, the CPI(M) should have behaved more responsibly. Instead, the party was protecting the murderers. “Thalassery is like a volcano which may erupt anytime,” he said. He alleged that the CPI(M) was subverting rule of law in the region.
He also accused the CPI(M) of attempts to communalise the clash between activists of the CPI(M) and the Indian Union Muslim League near Taliparamba. The party was trying to create a communal divide and cash in on the situation, he alleged.
To a question, Mr. Padmanabhan said he agreed with Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan's statement that communalism was growing in Muslim and Christian communities. The Chief Minister's party had a great role in encouraging communalism in these communities, he added.
