Modi instigating violence in Kerala: CPI-M leader

A top Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of instigating violence in Kerala.

State CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, while speaking to the media in Delhi, lashed out at Modi for interacting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres in the state via a video call on Friday.

"Through supporting shutdowns, Modi is instigating violence and that's what he did. All this is being done to unsettle the state government here," he said.

Modi interacted with his party cadres when the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party was observing a statewide shutdown after a 50-year-old man set himself on fire at a BJP protest venue on Thursday and later succumbed to his injuries.

The BJP state unit has been protesting ever since the Kerala government has been trying to implement the Supreme Court order of opening the Sabarimala temple to women of all ages.

"The BJP in Kerala is trying to enter the Guinness with the record of holding shutdowns for anything and everything. Shutdown protests are called only in extreme cases," added Balakrishnan, who is in Delhi to attend the central committee meeting of CPI-M.

--IANS

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