Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Monday, criticised the RSS workers for organising the ‘WhatsApp hartal’ on April 16 in Kerala.
A state-wide hartal was organised in Kerala on April 16 through social media to protest against the Kathua rape incident. It had turned violent in some places, with shops forced to down the shutters and stones pelted at buses. Some police personnel were also attacked in the violence.
The Kerala police had arrested five people on April 21 who were reportedly the admins of the WhatsApp group, ‘Voice of Youth,’ which had called for the hartal. They were all associated with the RSS.
Answering a question posed during the Question hour in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said, “Till date, 385 criminal cases have been filed under appropriate sections depending on the magnitude of the crime against those who had instigated the hartal with an aim of inciting communal divide.”
He also mentioned that the workers behind the hartal belonged to various political outfits and some of them had also participated in the hartal.
“Their plan was to push our state into an unimaginable state (of anarchy),” he said, referring to the RSS workers who were behind the hartal. He added that the government would look into the legal possibilities to avoid such incidents from happening.
The Chief Minister also said that the central government has been intimated about this incident. He asked the society to be careful and aware of such incidents.
On April 18, the State Human Rights Commission had sought stern action against those who took part in the hartal. The Commission had asked the District Police Chief to submit an enquiry report within a span of 30 days.