Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) plotted to bring communal polarisation to a boil in Kerala.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting of the CPI(M) State committee here, Mr. Balakrishnan said, "The retaliatory killings of RSS and SDPI workers in Alappuzha and Palakkad are incontrovertible proof of their political gambit to fan religious sectarianism in an unrestrained pursuit of electoral victories."
The RSS and the BJP had different political compulsions to create societal division. The RSS's divisive Hindu-only agenda had rendered minorities insecure. The SDPI has sought to exploit the uncertainty to gain traction in the Muslim community by portraying itself as the sole bulwark against violent majoritarian Hindu communalism.
The RSS and the BJP were a divided lot. Its vote share had plummeted in the 2021 Assembly elections, Mr. Balakrishnan said.
Under severe pressure from the national leadership to gain lost ground in Kerala, the Sangh Parivar had chosen to create communal discord in a vain attempt to persuade Hindus to rally under the saffron flag by depicting Muslims as the other.
The Palakkad incident was the fallout of both the RSS's and SDPI's toxic us-versus-them political line.
Both "extremist" outfits had a shared political interest in turning Kerala into a battleground of religions.
Mr. Balakrishnan said Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition was overtly cautious about condemning extremist violence.
The SDPI and the BJP had orchestrated the killings and then tried to blame the police for "law and order breakdown". Congress had played second fiddle and weighed in with criticism against the government.
Mr. Balakrishnan claimed the police had foiled a post-Palakkad bid to create communal discord by using social media to organise impromptu strikes and lockdowns.
The CPI(M) saw no point in banning the SDPI. It would only emerge under a new name. "If proscribing extremist organisations is a solution, then the authorities should first ban the RSS for killing Mahatma Gandhi and demolishing the Babri Masjid. It is the radical ideology secular forces should counter," he said.
The CPI(M) would organise rallies and public meetings on April 25 and April 26 to rally the people against the SDPI and the RSS bid to divide the citizenry on religious lines. On May 30, the party will conduct a door-to-door campaign to counter the opposition's campaign against K-Rail (Silverline).
