Kodiyeri blames RSS-BJP for CPI(M) leader’s murder

He seeks high-level probe to uncover conspiracy

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who returned to the post of the State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Friday, blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party (RSS-BJP) for the murder of CPI(M) Peringara local committee secretary P.B. Sandeep Kumar and called for a high-level investigation to uncover the conspiracy behind the act.

Addressing his first press conference after resuming charge, Mr. Balakrishnan alleged that the murder was a pre-planned one. He also wanted the State Government to examine a reported police version that it was not politically motivated. The police, he said, should not have made any such observation while the investigation was still on.

The CPI(M) did not support tit-for-tat murders, Mr. Balakrishnan said, adding that 215 CPI(M) workers had died at the hands of the RSS-BJP in the State so far. A total of 15 of the 20 workers of the party killed since 2016 had fallen victims to the RSS-BJP attack. Overall, 588 CPI(M) workers had died in political violence, he said.