'Janaraksha Yatra' to create awareness against political murders: Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Tuesday said party's ambitious 'Janaraksha Yatra' is to create awareness against political murders.

He said the yatra was started from Kannur because most murders took place here only.

While speaking to ANI, Amit Shah said, "Yatra is to invoke awareness. Thirteen BJP workers have been brutally murdered in a short span of time. If we don't bring awareness now, they won't stop. We have chosen Kannur because most murders took place here. The yatra will continue till October 17 in Delhi and all other state capitals. Then we'll take out huge 'Jan Sampark Abhiyan' in Kerala."

"This movement is non-political. We wanted to stand with our workers and their families and make situation where there's no further political violence," he added.

The saffron party's 15-day padayatra will span across 154 km, covering 11 districts of Kerala. It will be BJP's first major public demonstration in Kerala as it attempts to make inroads into the state's electoral politics.

Earlier in the day, BJP president lashed out at Kerala's Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) and blamed the party for supporting political violence in the state as he flagged off the Janaraksha Yatra in Payyannur.

Addressing the gathering here, Shah said, "End of the CPI-M will herald the end of political violence. Wherever CPI-M ruled - be it Kerala, West Bengal or Tripura - political violence followed. Also, more than 120 workers of the BJP had succumbed to death in Kerala due to political violence."

He further blamed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the killings of his party's workers".

Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam, MPs Suresh Gopi and Richard Hey, former Karnataka Education Minister C T Ravi, BJP Puducherry president V Swaminathan, and many other BJP leaders and workers joined the foot march.

Shah is on a three-day visit to the state, led the march after paying floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.