Tense situation in parts of the district in the run-up to the processions planned on August 24 under the aegis of pro-Sangh Parivar and pro-Communist Party of India (Marxist) organisations has kept the police on tenterhooks, amid law and order concerns triggered by recent skirmishes involving rival party workers.
For police officials here and the public, the recent outbreak of hostilities between CPI(M) and BJP workers near Thalassery and the death of a BJP worker near Koothuparamba, in what the police suspect was an accidental explosion while handling or making crude bombs, serve as a barometer of the rising tension ahead of the face-off between the parties on August 24.
The CPI(M) has planned to organise cultural processions under the aegis of organisations loyal to it that day purportedly to spread the renaissance ideas of Sree Narayana Guru, Ayyankali, and Chattampi Swami. But it is timed to coincide with the ‘shobha yatras’ being organised by the Balagokulam, a children’s organisation under the Sangh Parivar.
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“Obviously, the district police are on heightened alert when the rival parties organise processions, big and small, on Wednesday,” District Police Chief Kori Sanjaykumar Gurudin told
Police circle-level all-party meetings have been convened to ensure that there is no overlapping of processions and overshooting of time allotted to the organisers, he said, adding that deployment of additional force on that day had been requisitioned.
The police have also served notice on the organisers of the processions to ensure that the events do not obstruct traffic or create tense situation, reminding them they will be held responsible if any untoward incident takes place. Night-time vehicle checking and patrolling have also been intensified.
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“The Sangh Parivar has decided to instigate violence as a precursor to its processions on August 24 aimed at communalising believers,” said CPI(M) district secretary P. Jayarajan.
The death of the BJP worker in the bomb blast at Kottayampoil is an indication that the Sangh Parivar is engaged in bomb-making and amassing weapons to create trouble in the district, he said.
BJP district president C. Sathyaprakash was not immediately available for comment as he was attending a party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram. Local leaders of the party said that flags and campaign posters of the Sree Krishna Jayanthi celebration were destroyed in several places here in a bid to disrupt the celebration.
“The police should be allowed to act freely to ensure peaceful atmosphere in the district,” said district Congress president K. Surendran. Both the CPI(M) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are trying to instigate riots in connection with the Sree Krishna Jayanthi celebration, he said, adding that the latest incidents were a proof that criminal gangs were engaged in amassing crude bombs and weapons.