Kerala | Kannur's country bomb blast sparks political row ahead of Lok Sabha polls

With the Lok Sabha polls just weeks away, the recent country bomb blast in northern Kannur that killed a person and injured three others who were allegedly making the crude explosive has triggered a political clash in Kerala.

The Opposition Congress has accused activists of the ruling CPI(M) of direct involvement in bomb-making, while the Marxist party has denied the charges and distanced itself from the allegations and the persons who were injured in the blast.

Satheesan targets LDF

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly VD Satheesan alleged on Monday that the person responsible for making the bomb, who was killed in the blast, was affiliated with the ruling party. Those who were injured in the explosion, which took place at Panur in Kannur district on Friday, and those who had taken them to the hospital were also CPI(M) workers, he said.

“Those who went for the funeral of the deceased person were also activists of the CPI(M). Then how can the ruling party evade responsibility for making the bomb?” Satheesan asked while talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Asking whether the bomb was made to kill the activists of the Congress-led UDF, he also accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who holds the home portfolio, of promoting criminals.

“The chief minister is the one who encourages all criminals in the state. Then he says that they will win the Lok Sabha polls. The LDF will not win even a single seat,” the LoP remarked.

CM assures action

Meanwhile, the chief minister assured the public that he would take stringent action, beyond politics, against those involved in bomb making but defended the CPI(M) in the ongoing row.

He also justified the visit of the party's local leaders to the house of Sheril, a resident of Kaivelikkal who had succumbed to blast injuries, saying they did not do anything "prohibited".

Speaking to reporters at Adoor in Pathanamthitta, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the making of bombs cannot be accepted at any cost. "There is no need to make bombs in our state. Legal action has already been taken in this regard. There is no need to see things politically. It (bomb-making) was a crime, and we have taken action against those involved in it," he said.

While replying to a question, the CM further said he does not think that visiting the house of a deceased person is a "prohibited act" and said consoling the family members was not at all wrong.

Govindan defends party

CPI(M) State Secretary MV Govindan also defended the party in the bomb blast incident and said it had no role in it.

The party's stand is that there should be no conflict anywhere, he said, and claimed that the CPI(M) is viewing even the attacks against it with self-restraint. He also accused a section of the media in the state of working as a “megaphone of the right wing” and spreading false propaganda against the CPI(M).

Govindan also justified the visit of party members to the house of the blast victim, and said that visiting the house of deceased persons is a “part of the culture”, the leader said.

One more arrested

Meanwhile, another suspect was arrested on Sunday in connection with the blast. The arrested person -- Amal Babu -- is a local DYFI leader. With this, the number of people who have been arrested in connection with the blast has increased to five, police said.

The blast took place when a country-made bomb was being put together in Panur on Friday, police said. Sheril, a resident of Kaivelikkal, succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode. The other injured person, Vineesh, lost a palm in the blast, the police said. Besides them, two others -- Vinod and Ashwanth -- were also injured in the blast, the police added.

(With agency inputs)