One Injured After Bomb Hurled at CPM Meeting, RSS Worker Detained

Kannur: A bomb was hurled near a public meeting venue of CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at Kannur in Kerala on Thursday with the Left party alleging RSS's involvement in the episode which has left a DYFI activist injured.

The incident occurred around 7.30 PM at about 200 metres away from the venue, where Balakrishnan was speaking at Nangarathupeedika in New Mahe area of Kannur, police said.

Balakrishnan left the venue shortly after the incident completing his speech, police said, adding the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activist suffered injuries in the incident.

According to the police, CPM workers had gone to offer floral tributes at the Martyr's column made in memory of Lijesh, party worker who had died following an attack by RSS workers last year.

"They found burnt party flags and alleged that somebody had urinated and defecated at the spot. They had written RSS-BJP on the walls," police official added.

CPM flags and martyrs column at Thalaserry were also damaged in the incident.

"We strongly condemn this. The RSS' game plan is to expand their political base through such violence and communal polarisation which is their standard methodology. The supremely secular people of Kerala will, however, unitedly defeat such machinations," CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury told PTI over phone.

Strongly condemning the incident, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram that strong action would be taken against those responsible for hurling the bomb at the venue.

Meanwhile, BJP has denied the charge, with its Kannur unit refuting the claims of CPI(M) that it was linked to the bomb hurling.

The politically sensitive district witnessed several violent incidents involving the RSS-BJP combine and the CPI(M) after the May 2016 Kerala assembly polls in which the LDF came to power.

In a recent incident on January 18, a 53-year-old BJP worker was stabbed to death at Andaloor in Dharmadam, the constituency of Chief Minister Vijayan, in which six CPI(M) workers have been arrested.

(with inputs from PTI)