SHAH TO MARCH AGAINST ‘JIHADI TERRORISM’ IN KERALA ON OCT 3

to broaden BJP base in Kerala, party chief Amit Shah will kick off a 15-day statewide padyatra (foot march) in trouble-torn Kannur in the northern region on October 3, in a bid to “expose red and jihadi terrorism”.

Shah will meet families of victims of political violence and address a meeting in Pinarayi, the village of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on October 5.

Shah will travel on foot, covering at least 15km a day, according to BJP’s state president Kummanam Rajasekharan who will lead the march. He will camp in Kannur for three days.

Shah will also address a session at Thiruvananthapuram on October 17, the last day of the padyatra. Many central ministers, including Niramala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani and Ananthkumar, are expected to address the march at different venues.

Called “janaraksha yatra”, the party will “expose ruling CPI(M)’s political intolerance” and the “growing fundamentalist activities” in Kerala, said Rajasekharan. “The CPI(M) believes in politics of annihilation, so it does not allow others to function in villages,” said yatra coordinator, V Muraleedharan.

Besides targeting CPI(M), the party is also expected to exploit alleged incidents of what it has projected as “love jihad” to attract the majority community.

The CPI(M) has criticised Shah’s upcoming visit.

“He is an expert in fanning trouble and creating rift among people. Wherever he has gone, riots have followed. We are sure people will see through his game plan,” said CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

Police have beefed up security in Kannur in view of Shah’s visit.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Desperate He (Shah) is an expert in fanning trouble and creating rift. Wherever he went, riots have followed. KODIYERI BALAKRISHNAN, CPI(M) Kerala secretary