BJP leaders take out protest march in Capital

Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Vijay Goel along with other BJP leaders on Wednesday staged a protest march against the CPM's alleged targeting of party workers in Kerala.

Earlier on, BJP president Amit Shah had flagged off a "Jan Raksha Yatra' in Kerala on Tuesday against political violence in the southern state. He had also announced that similar rallies will be held across all state capitals from Wednesday.

In his address during the march, Singh called the alleged violence by the Left in Kerala "a blot on Indian democracy." He further said that the violence was an attack not only on BJP but all other political parties that believe in democracy.

Singh was joined by several BJP leaders and party workers including city unit president Manoj Tiwari, Shahnawaz Hussain, Vijay Goel, who marched from the Delhi BJP office towards CPM office at the Bhai Veer Singh Marg.

Singh claimed that the aim behind the protest was to preserving the Gandhian principle of non-violence, democratic values, and the country's culture. Meanwhile, he also urged other political parties to take note of the violence allegedly perpetrated by "the Communists in Kerala."

"Other parties should not be under the illusion that violence in Kerala affects only the BJP because it is a blot and a curse on Indian democracy. BJP has accepted this challenge to restore the Gandhian ideal of non-violence because violence could not be a means to further political goals," he said.

Lashing out at the Kerala government, Goel blamed the local police for the violence against BJP-RSS workers.

"We cannot expect any justice in a state where a section of police maintains that they are Communists. It cannot be allowed to continue," he said.

The BJP chief is also likely to attend a protest march by the party at the CPI(M) office here on October 8, party sources said.

As many as 120 BJP workers have been killed in Kerala, the BJP has alleged. The CPM has, in turn, accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of resorting to violence and denied the involvement of its government and leadership in the political killings.