CPI(M) never supports violence: Kerala CM

Stating that the CPI(M) never promoted violence, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday asserted that it had no role in the recent killings of two Youth Congress activists in Kasaragod, even as the Left party demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

Talking to reporters at the secretariat here, he said the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had already directed the state police to take stringent action against the accused and bring them before law at the earliest.

If any CPI(M) activist was found to be involved in the crime, they would never get the party's backing, Vijayan said, adding that they would not only have to face legal action, but also stern party action.

"The CPI(M) has never promoted violence. It is a party which had to face violence on several occasions and there was no need for it to conspire the murder of the Youth Congress workers," he said, replying to a reporter's question over the issue.

"At a time when the CPI(M) is organising party yatras ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, will anyone with minimum political literacy indulge in such a crime?," Vijayan asked.

The chief minister's remarks came at a time when the ruling party is facing the heat over the killings of Kripesh (24) and Sarath Lal (21), the Youth Congress activists who were waylaid and attacked while returning home after attending a function at Periya in Kasaragod on Sunday night.

Opposition Congress and BJP have alleged that the killings were executed with the knowledge and support of the leadership of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Meanwhile, state CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan reiterated on Tuesday that his party had no knowledge about the twin killings.

"Whoever be the accused, they should be brought before the law. We do not endorse the politics of killings," he said in Kollam.

Rejecting the claims of Vijayan and Balakrishnan, state Youth Congress president Dean Kuriakose demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the gruesome incident.

"We do not trust the ongoing police investigation and demand a CBI probe into the killing of our activists," he said, adding that not only those who had executed the killings, but the conspirators should also be brought before law.

Three Youth Congress workers had lost their lives in the last one year due to political rivalry, Kuriakose noted.

Demanding a comprehensive and judicious probe, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala visited Governor P Sathasivam at the Raj Bhavan here.

The Congress leader later told reporters that the governor assured him that he would seek a report from the LDF government regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, the police are continuing with the interrogation of those taken into custody in connection with the incident.

Two persons were taken into custody on Monday.

Two motorcycles, suspected to have been used by those responsible for the brutal attacks on the Youth Congress workers, were also seized.

Normal life was affected and incidents of violence were reported from various places during a dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Youth Congress in Kerala on Monday.