RSS worker killed in Kerala: Smriti Irani says state govt is not taking action as incident is 'politically beneficial'

New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani Thursday alleged that law and order in Kerala had “broken down” and the CPM-led state government was not taking action against the killing of RSS workers as it was “politically beneficial” for it. Irani’s remarks came as the BJP stepped up an attack on the Pinarayi Vijayan government after a 34-year-old RSS worker Rajesh was hacked to death near Thiruvananthapuram. His left arm was chopped off, and there were several injuries all over his body. [caption id=“attachment_2716196” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Smriti Irani. PTI[/caption] “It is very evident that the government of Kerala is not taking effective action to curb the killing of RSS workers as it is politically beneficial for it. It is a shame that law and order has completely broken down in the state,” the minister told reporters here. Irani was accompanied by BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav who claimed that in last 17 months more than 17 workers were killed. Meanwhile, Union minister Arun Jaitley will visit the house of Rajesh on 6 August. He will also hold discussions with state BJP leaders on the issue, the Kerala unit of the BJP said in a statement. Jaitley would also visit the houses of BJP ward councillors, which were attacked allegedly by CPM activists in various parts of Thiruvanathapuram last week, it said. “No part of the world has been put to such a long march of blood soaked sacrifices as RSS workers are witnessing in Kerala, and that too, only for the reason that they chose to side with nationalist views,” Yadav said, adding that in the last 25 years, more than 85 Sangh workers were killed. He said that it seems the state police is also acting like CPM cadre and not taking required action against the guilty. “Now our main focus is rehabilitation of our workers, boosting the morale of the organisation and fighting in democratic manner,” Yadav said. He alleged that Kerala has witnessed large scale violence perpetrated by CPM men, but Kannur stands out for the scale and intensity of violence “carried out by the Left party workers with the aid and support of the state government”. A series of clashes between CPM and BJP-RSS activists had rocked Thiruvanathauram last week. The BJP had alleged that the CPM was behind the murder of Rajesh on 29 July, a charge denied by the ruling party in the state. Governor P Sathasivam had summoned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and DGP Loknath Behara to ascertain the action taken by the government following the killing of the RSS worker. The state government also decided to convene an all-party meeting on 6 August to check political violence.