KOZHIKODE/KANNUR: The war of words between the Congress and the CPM over the killing of SFI activist Dheeraj Rajendran continued on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accusing the Congress of vitiating the peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the state. “Where does the culture of stabbing right on the chest come from?” he asked, inaugurating the valedictory function of the CPM district conference at the Kozhikode beach.
Without directly referring to the Alappuzha murders of SDPI and BJP leaders, he said “the communal forces are looking for an opportunity to derail the peaceful atmosphere in the state. Unfortunately, Congress has also joined forces. The murder of Dheeraj indicates this,” he said.
The CM also came down heavily on the comments by some Congress leaders to justify Dheeraj’s murder.
“Some are trying to justify the horrific murder that happened in Idukki. Congress went to the extent to say that Dheeraj invited his death. Did we hear anyone from Congress condemning or discouraging the violence?” Pinarayi asked.
Speaking in Alappuzha, state Congress chief K Sudhakaran said the CPM was celebrating the martyrdom of Dheeraj and added the incident was being used to turn the campuses in the state into battlefields. “The party leaders have purchased eight cents of land in Kannur to construct a memorial for Dheeraj immediately after his death.
While the procession carrying the dead body of Dheeraj was progressing, the party leaders and workers enjoyed a ‘mega Thiruvathira’,” Sudhakaran said, referring to the traditional dance organised in connection with the CPM Thiruvananthapuram district conference at Parassala.
Don’t aggravate situation: Kodiyeri
“The statement of Idukki police superintendent was evident about the real facts behind the incident in Idukki. But CPM leader M M Mani tried to threaten the SP for his statement,” Sudhakaran said, adding that in the past few weeks, the youth organisations of CPM unleashed a series of attacks in the college. “KSU used to be weak in engineering colleges. But in the last elections, it performed well.
Out of the nine (engineering) colleges, KSU won in six and it was a setback for SFI,” he said. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said Sudhakaran should stop humiliating Dheeraj. “The outbursts by Congress leaders are provocative. The Congress leadership should abstain from aggravating the situation further,” he said, adding that it was a planned murder and serious investigation should be done to find whether there was a conspiracy to kill the SFI activist.