Kerala BJP calls for hartal over activist's murder today

In Kerala, the BJP has called for a state-wide dawn-to-dusk hartal today to protest against the murder of the party’s activist Ramith in Kannur yesterday. Hospitals, medical stores, milk and newspaper supply have been exempted from the hartal.

Ramith’s father was also hacked to death in a similar incident earlier. Reports say that the incident was in retaliation of the recent murder of CPM activist Mohanan.The two murders occurred within a span of 48 hours and within the limits of Dharmadam Assembly constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

BJP has demanded the Kerala government to hand over the Ramith murder case to



CBI for investigation. In a press statement, BJP President Amit Shah condemned the incident. He also called upon all leaders across political spectrum to condemn it as violence has no place in democratic country. He said, the repeated occurrence of political violence in Kannur district and in the native village of the State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shows that these are sponsored killings by the Marxist cadres. 

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, however, alleged the violence in Kerala has been started by the RSS-BJP combine itself and blaming the state's ruling party for the same is total fabrication of facts.