Kerala CM blames RSS for political violence in state

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the RSS must refrain from political violence in the state before campaigning against it at the national level.

"If the RSS is campaigning against violent politics, they must also refrain from all sorts of violent politics. The government does not support any kind of violence. We are taking necessary steps to maintain peace in the state," he told a press meet here. Vijayan, who arrived here today on a two-day visit, also trashed the BJP's threat to impose President's Rule in Kerala and said a lot had changed in the country since the state government was dismissed in 1959 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"Threats to impose President's Rule will not affect us. The state government was once dismissed in 1959. Since then, a lot has changed in the country. They (BJP) need to understand that," he said.
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was in Kerala last week, had warned the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state of "serious consequences" if it continued to "unleash political violence" on its rivals.

The BJP will stage a day-long sit-in at Kerala House here tomorrow to protest the "violence" in the state. Asked about a recent alleged political murder in Kannur district, Vijayan said the government was mulling convening an all-party meeting to resolve the issue. "We had called an all-party meet earlier to ensure peace. We are planning to convene one such meeting again," he added.
Earlier in the day, Vijayan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed Kerala's ration issue and other pending projects with him.