Jaitley visits family of murdered RSS worker in Kerala

CPI-M organised protest in front of Raj Bhavan asking Jaitley to visit families of its dead cadres

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday visited the family of an RSS activist who was murdered by suspected CPI-M workers in Kerala.

Jaitley drove from the airport to the home of E. Rajesh, 34, who was hacked to death a week ago. He met Rajesh's wife, two children and other family members.

On a day's visit to Kerala, Jaitley was received at the airport by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.

Also on Sunday, the CPI-M organised a sit-in protest in front of the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor P. Sathasivam, asking Jaitley to also visit the families of its cadres who have been allegedly killed by BJP and RSS workers.

Anavoor Nagappan, the Thiruvananthapuram District Secretary of the CPI-M, told the media that those on protest included 21 family members of their activists killed in the state from 1980.

"Jaitley should not just restrict his visit to just the RSS worker's home. All these people who are sitting here have lost their near and dear ones to BJP and RSS workers," he said.

Those who joined the protest included state CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and LDF Convenor Vaikom Viswam.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting of leaders of political parties in Kerala to discuss ways to maintain peace.