The CPI(M) and the BJP locked horns with each other over the District Police Chief (DPC) K. Sanjay Kumar’s letter to their leaders seeking their co-operation and compliance with police measures to maintain peace in trouble-torn areas.
The DPC’s letter to political party leaders in the wake of the all-party peace conference here on Monday drew separate responses from the CPI(M) and the BJP leaderships here.
The police chief in the district in his letter urged the leaderships, among others, to ensure that their speeches and statements do not cause any further escalation of violence.
The leaders have also been asked not to interfere in police actions to restore peace. The letter also told the leaders to re-think the rationale of political workers involved in disputes of over party flag poles and columns illegally erected in public places.
CPI(M) district secretary P. Jayarajan said in a statement in response to the DPC’s letter that his party had discussed the letter.
Stating that the DPC was viewing the political violence in the district as mere law and order issue, he alleged that the political clashes occur here as part of the ‘Kerala agenda’ of the RSS. Rejecting Mr. Kumar’s direction that political leaders should not interfere to oppose police actions to maintain law and order, he said that not all police personnel were impartial.
He also said that political campaign activities in public places was part of the political awareness of the people of the State. The CPI(M) leader also ‘reminded’ the DPC that ‘unlawful and politically-motivated moves’ of a former DPC during the previous UDF rule had drawn ‘strong protests from the public.’ BJP district president P. Sathyaprakash and his immediate predecessor K. Ranjith alleged in a press conference here on Wednesday that the statement of the CPI(M) district secretary, who had not attended the peace meeting, amounted to withdrawal of the assurance for peace made by CPI(M)’s representatives in the meeting. As many as 83 Sangh Parivar workers had been killed in CPI(M)-instigated violence in the district since 1969, they said. All leaders in the party had agreed at the meeting to the proposals made in the DPC’s letter, they noted.
“We also don’t fully accept all the directions in the DPC’s letter, but we will accept them fully if the police implement them fairly,” Mr. Ranjith said.
Meanwhile, sources said that moves are on for the arrangement of a one-to-one talks between leaders of the CPI(M) and the Sangh Parivar in the presence of district administration officials and police officers. They said that some efforts to build a channel of contacts between the rival leaderships are already under way.
The letter urges the parties to ensure that their speeches do not cause any further escalation of violence
