By IANS
Kannur (Kerala) : An all-party meeting here Saturday resolved to take steps to ensure peace in this Kerala district rocked by political violence between Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists.
Seven people were killed in four days of clashes between workers of the ruling CPI-M and the BJP-RSS combine in Kannur early this month. The violence erupted March 5 following an attack on a RSS leader allegedly by CPI-M activists.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan convened the all-party meeting to discuss steps to prevent recurrence of clashes in the district. State leaders of all major political parties attended the meeting.
A resolution, agreed upon by all political parties, said: “Steps will be taken to prevent provocative incidents to ignite violence. The district collector and the superintendent of police will call the meeting of concerned organisations every month and will review the situation. The government will initiate strong action against any move which will threaten peace”.
Speaking to media, CPI-M state committee member M.V. Jayarajan said the meeting called by the government would definitely bring peace to the district.
“All the political parties at the meeting have promised the government of their support to take strong action against any incident that may provoke violence,” he said.
BJP state chief P.K. Krishnadas said the chief minister asked him to give a written complaint if the party finds it difficult to carry out party work in Kannur.
The BJP has been complaining that the party is finding it difficult to work in the district due to threats from the CPI-M cadres.
“We also demanded that the police should act in an impartial manner. All the political parties except CPI-M here are not happy with the police and they have certain suspicions regarding police. The chief minister and the home minister have assured us that the police will not act in a partisan way,” Krishnadas said.
In 1999, a similar meeting was held following clashes between the CPI-M and the BJP. However, it did not help a lasting solution to the problem. Kannur district has been a hotbed of political violence for the last four decades.