Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Wednesday participated in the Jana Rakasha Yatra in Kerala’s Kannur district to protest against the attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party workers in the state perpetrated allegedly by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
“The BJP yatra is to generate awareness on the violence and killings of political workers and those of our ideology,” he said, according to NDTV. “This yatra is a mirror to the governments of Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal to repent and put an end to the killings of innocent people.”
Kannur has been the hotbed of political clashes in Kerala. According to the police, there were 69 political murders in the district between 2000 and 2016, with 31 victims from the Sangh Parivar and 30 from the Left party.
“More than 20 people have been murdered in the chief minister’s district. It proves that the killers are being given protection,” Adityanath claimed. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the rally would expose the misrule of the CPI(M) in the state. “There is no scope for political violence in a democracy. But unfortunately Kerala, Gods’ own land, is witnessing politically-sponsored violence,” Adityanath said.
BJP National President Amit Shah had launched the Jana Raksha Yatra from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s hometown in Kannur on Tuesday. The march will go through Kannur for four days, and a day each in 10 other districts before concluding in Thiruvananthapuram on October 17.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Goan counterpart Manohar Parrikar will participate in the rally over the next few days. Several party leaders will be seen marching against the CPI(M)‘s alleged involvement in the political murders in the state.
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