Kejriwal praises Kerala counterpart for battling ‘divisive forces’

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday commended his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan for “successfully confronting all those forces” trying to divide people in the name of caste and religion.

Inaugurating a cultural festival jointly organised by the two states, Kejriwal said the situation demanded unity among parties to fight the polarising forces.

He did not name any individual or party, nor said who he was referring to. But the Kerala chief minister and the BJP have been accusing each other of unleashing political violence against the workers of the other party in the southern state.

“I salute the Kerala CM for confronting all those forces that are trying to divide people. Our strength is our unity in diversity. No one likes hatred. We are people who support love and like to live in harmony,” Kejriwal said.

Vijayan said this was a “time in which those speaking truth are targeted”, referring to the killings of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh in September and rationalist MM Kalburgi in August 2015.

More than 40 percussionists performed the 300-year-old art form Chenda melam at the cultural event. The chief guests were welcomed with Theyyam, a popular ritual dance form of North Malabar in Kerala.

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said though politically and geographically both the states were separated, culturally both were alike.