Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran has said the State government has prepared the ground for the Popular Front of India (PFI) activists to run riot in the name of hartal.
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Talking to reporters in Kozhikode on Friday, he said the fact that even ambulances and several vehicles, which were on its way to the airport, were stoned by miscreants showed how helpless the government was.
More than 70 Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses were destroyed, and many passengers and bus conductors were attacked. The assault on police officials pointed to the violence that was being perpetuated by the PFI.
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They did not even spare the pilgrims who were travelling to Mookambika and damaged their vehicle. All of this occurred right under the nose of the government, which remained clueless as to how the violence could be prevented, Mr. Surendran said.
The State Police Chief’s assurance that the police would protect the life and property of people turned out to be hollow. The government could do nothing when women were assaulted. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office at Mattannoor and the BJP office at Manjeri were attacked.
Never before had the police displayed such complacency when dealing with hartals, even after the High Court declared that the hartal was against the law and that action should be taken against those who destroyed public property, he said.
The lone MP of CPI(M) seemed to have taken a lenient attitude towards the PFI. It was the government's political stand which had made the police a mute spectator to the violence, Mr. Surendran said.
The State was now a training ground for many armed militant groups across the country and it was up to the government to act strongly, Mr. Surendran said.