Against the backdrop of the recent spate of political killings in Kannur district of Kerala, this may be the first time that the Kerala CM has spoken about bringing peace in the district.
Pinarayi Vijayan’s speech in the assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned the political violence in Kerala and advocated peace and brotherhood.
Pinarayi had said in the speech “Violence can kill someone, but one cannot be corrected through it. Only compassion can correct a person. Opinion differences in different parties should not be sorted out by killing each other. Instead one should think of a brotherhood that the person who opposes you might join your organisation tomorrow. So is it right to kill someone who might be your fellow being tomorrow. This thought can bring peace and brotherhood among people,” he said.
But the CM’s speech was not well appreciated by Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader KK Rema who brought up the issue of her husband’s death in a recent Facebook post. Her husband TP Chandrashekharan was allegedly murdered by the CPI (M).
She asked in the post how Pinarayi could talk about brotherhood and peace without any sense of guilt. She also alleged that the CM’s words were fake and fabricated.
“I did not find an explanation for the death of your old comrade TP Chandrashekaran, in your (Pinarayi Vijayan) statement. Now you say, violence can kill someone, but one cannot be corrected through it. Four years ago sitting in front of my dearest comrade’s dead body I had shouted, you can kill but not defeated. Then you called him (TP) Kulamkuthi (the traitor of one’s own clan) and the person who can still hear the echoes of it will not be able to keep quiet after hearing such a heartless speech,” she wrote.
She also said that there were reports about the Home department managed by the CM trying to bring the convicts of the TP case to Kannur central jail. She alleges that they are being brought to Kannur for a leisurely stay and it might be coincidental that the CM’s speech and the news came out the same day.