After twin political murders, Kerala fears communal flare-up

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling CPM and opposition parties keeping their fingers crossed over the fall out of the twin  murders in  Alappuzha.

Even though the back to back  killing of state leaders of rival  organisations have been described as "political murders", what is worrying the government is the possibility of a communal flare up because of such incidents. Unlike the political murders that often take place in Kerala which are mainly due to ideological differences and fight for political space, according to preliminary probe it is clear that workers BJP-RSS and SDPI were involved in the brutal incidents.

BJP state president Mr K Surendran says it is not political murder but “ethnic  cleansing” of Hindus.  On the other hand the SDPI has also come out with similar statements that the killing of Shan was  part of the conspiracy to silence the Muslim community.

With both BJP-RSS and  SDPI leaders making  highly provocative  speeches, the police say the possibility of targeted retaliatory attacks cannot be ruled out completely.

The ruling CPM on the other hand accused the BJP-RSS and SDPI of creating animosity among the two communities.The CPM state secretariat has demanded an immediate end to the murder politics of the  two parties which was destroying the peaceful atmosphere in Kerala.

The CPM appealed to all secular believers on both sides to join hands and guard against  the attempts of hardline elements to trigger communal riots.

The CPM leadership alleged that the communal forces were making a conscious effort  to destroy the peaceful law and order situation  in  the state.

KPCC president Mr K  Sudhakaran rejected the CPM charge that  Congress was speaking the language of BJP. He alleged that Chief Minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan was obsessed only with the high speed K rail project. The CPM is aligning with the BJP and the SDPI wherever it suited them. As a result, the hardline elements  in  these organisations have started raising their heads.

Sudhakaran said the LDF government is squarely responsible for the killings in Alappuzha.