Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday told Governor P Sathasivam’s that there was no need to impose the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Kannur because of political murders in the district, PTI reported. The chief minister’s letter was a reply to the governor’s forwarding of a representation made by the Bharatiya Janata Party claiming a law and order situation.
Kerala has had a spate of political murders ever since the Left Democratic Front government came to power in May 2016. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communists have blamed each other for the violence.
Pinarayi claimed his government’s peace meetings had prevented any political murders during the last three months. He dismissed the most recently reported murder of an Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh member as an “isolated one” while stressing that two accused from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were arrested, while the five others responsible for the murders would be detained soon.
The chief minister also dismissed the saffron party’s allegations that 14 Sangh Parivar activists were killed after his party was voted to power. He criticised the BJP for demanding for the imposition of the controversial Act, citing that people in Manipur had suffered immensely from alleged AFSPA excesses. “They would do well to remember that in Manipur, where it had been implemented, 1,528 fake encounters and killings had been reported,” Pinarayi said.
The BJP, meanwhile, questioned the governor’s “inaction”. “Why isn’t the governor visiting Kannur? Why can’t he seek a report from the government?” BJP leader Sobha Surendran asked.
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