Ahead of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s visit to Dakshina Kannada district on February 25, unidentified persons set fire to the CPI (M) office in Mangaluru’s Thokkottu.
The incident occurred at around 12.00pm on Thursday, reports suggest.
The Kerala Chief Minister was scheduled to part take in a rally on communal harmony on Saturday.
However, the BJP and right-wing groups have been strongly opposing Vijayan’s visit stating that his party, the CPI(M), has been involved in politically motivated murders of BJP workers in Kerala for several years.
They had also threatened of ‘political unrest and chaos’ in the district if Vijayan chose to visit the south Karnataka district.
According to media reports, unidentified persons entered the CPI (M) office at Thokkottu and set fire to the cupboards and flex banners, which were to go up for Vijayan’s visit.
A part of the floor and one wall was also damaged. The Ullal police arrived at the spot and are investigating the incident.
The Sangh Parivar have called for a bandh in the district on February 25 in protest against Vijayan’s visit. The protest is slated for Friday, February 24.
On February 22, District BJP President Sanjeeva Mathandoor had pledged the party’s support for the bandh called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Shri Ram Sene on Saturday, opposing Vijayan’s visit.
The VHP on Monday, had released a list of BJP, RSS and other right-wing activists, who it claimed were killed by CPI (M) activists in Kannur.
“It is ironic that a public programme on communal harmony will be addressed by Pinarayi Vijayan, who is from a party, whose hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of innocent Indians. Pinarayi Vijayan’s constituency, Dharamadom, has witnessed a large number of politically-motivated murders. They have been killing innocents in the name of protecting the minority,” MB Purnaik, regional VHP head, had told media persons.
The right-wing organisations also appealed to the district administration to restrict Vijayan from making public appearances.