Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday paid tribute to former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the Gulberg Society massacre during the 2002 Gujarat violence.
In a post on X, Vijayan said the "brutal martydom" of Jafri is a chilling reminder of the cost of communal hatred.
"Paying tribute to the memory of Ehsan Jafri on the anniversary of the Gulberg Society massacre. A former MP and a staunch voice for a secular India, his brutal martyrdom remains a chilling reminder of the 2002 Gujarat genocide and the horrific cost of communal hatred," he wrote.
In a separate post, Vijayan noted that 69 people, including Jafri, were burnt to death in the alleged attack by the Sangh Parivar on Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002.
Vijayan also recalled the "relentless struggle" of Jafri's late wife, Zakia Jafri, against those behind the massacre, saying that her "lifelong legal battle for justice against the architects of the genocide inspired every secular mind in this country."
He said that the legal battle waged by Zakia against the "masterminds" of the genocide was "long and unparalleled."
She died at the age of 86 years "without getting justice," he added in his Facebook post.
Zakia was known for her legal battle against the investigative agencies for absolving Narendra Modi, who was then chief minister of Gujarat, and other top BJP leaders from responsibility for the riots that killed around 2000 people, predominantly Muslims.
"Their (Jafri and his wife) lives remain a powerful call to resist the politics of communal division and safeguard our democratic values," the CM said on X.
He, in the Facebook post, said that the Gulberg Society massacre was "a vivid picture of the persecution of minorities in Gujarat during the genocide," which completes 24 years on Saturday.