Pinarayi warns RSS and Centre against ‘importing mob violence’ into Kerala

Launching one of his sharpest political offensives in recent months, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday (December 23) accused the RSS and the Union government of spearheading a coordinated assault on Kerala’s secular fabric and federal rights, warning that attempts were under way to “transplant North India-style mob violence and communal polarisation” into the state.

Addressing a lengthy press conference on Christmas eve, Pinarayi tore into what he described as the “Hindutva project” of the Sangh Parivar and its alleged use of central power to financially and politically weaken non-BJP-ruled states, particularly Kerala. He said recent attacks on Christmas celebrations and carol groups, both outside Kerala and within the state, were part of a larger ideological campaign aimed at undermining India’s pluralism.

“Christmas is a celebration of love, peace, sacrifice and fraternity. Yet, even this message of goodwill is being attacked today,” Pinarayi said, citing reports of assaults on Christmas events in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. He squarely blamed Sangh Parivar organisations for these incidents.

Christmas cancelled

Referring to the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to cancel the Christmas holiday and mandate attendance for celebrations marking former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary on the same day, Pinarayi said such moves reflected a deliberate attempt to erase religious diversity. “We believed Kerala would remain immune to such practices. But efforts are being made to undermine that belief,” he said.

Also read: UDF recalibrates strategy for Kerala polls as CM race intensifies

The chief minister pointed to controversies within Kerala, including demands by a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh-linked union that Ganageetham be sung during Christmas-New Year programmes in post offices, which ultimately led to the cancellation of celebrations. He also cited the attack on a carol group, including children, in Pudussery, Palakkad. “What is more disturbing is that BJP leaders openly justified the violence, insulting carol singers with baseless allegations,” he said, adding that strict action had been taken against the perpetrators.

Pinarayi also flagged reports of pressure and threats from RSS-affiliated groups against private schools that planned Christmas celebrations. Some schools, he said, were forced to cancel programmes and refund money collected from students. The government has ordered urgent inquiries and warned of stern action against those obstructing celebrations or practising religious discrimination.

“These developments show that communal forces are attempting to raise their heads in Kerala. Any encroachment on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution is unacceptable,” he said.

U-turn from last year

Drawing a sharp contrast between symbolic outreach and ideological hostility, Pinarayi recalled that the same forces now attacking carol groups had visited Christian homes and churches with cakes last Christmas. He also referred to an April 4, 2025 article in Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, discussing church properties, as evidence of what he called the organisation’s “inner mindset”. Kerala, he asserted, would not accept attempts to spread religious hatred or weaken secularism.

The chief minister linked this ideological offensive to the recent murder of Ramnarayan Baghel, a migrant worker from Chhattisgarh, at Walayar in Palakkad. He said the killing, carried out by a group influenced by hate-filled ideas, had shocked Kerala’s conscience. “This is an attempt to import the culture of mob lynching that the Sangh Parivar has fostered in North India. Kerala is not fertile ground for that,” he said, condemning efforts to brand the victim as a “Bangladeshi migrant”.

Also read: BJP's 2024 LS poll show in Kerala under lens as SIR exposes shocking ASD entries

Pinarayi announced that the Cabinet had decided to provide Rs 30 lakh in assistance to Baghel’s family from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, including fixed deposits for his two children. He underlined that all those behind the crime had been brought before the law and would face the maximum punishment, with a special investigation team handling the case.

In a pointed counter-narrative, Pinarayi highlighted a recent heart transplant at the Ernakulam General Hospital, where a Malayali donor’s heart was transplanted into a Nepali national. “We did not ask about religion, language, gender or nationality. This is the Kerala we stand for,” he said, contrasting Kerala’s humanitarian ethos with what he described as the divisive politics of Hindutva.

‘Punishment’ for Kerala

The chief minister then turned his fire on the Union government, accusing it of being guided by the RSS and using financial levers to punish Kerala for resisting its ideology. He alleged that the Centre was misusing constitutional provisions and financial norms to cripple the state’s development agenda.

For the past five years, Pinarayi said, the Centre had systematically undermined Kerala’s capital expenditure plans, most notably by treating loans raised by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) as state borrowing and retroactively cutting Kerala’s market borrowing limits from 2021-22 onwards. He recalled that the Reserve Bank of India had clearly distinguished between guarantees and loans as early as 1999, accusing the Centre of adopting a “deliberately flawed” interpretation in Kerala’s case.

Also read: Kerala elections: UDF ropes in new allies, faces pushback from one partner

Despite submitting a detailed memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 9, 2025, listing the financial crises created by the Centre, Pinarayi said the state continued to face a “negative and unresponsive” attitude. He accused the Centre of double standards, speaking of development while financially strangling states like Kerala.

Drop in Kerala’s share

The chief minister cited a steep fall in Kerala’s share of central devolution, from 3.05 per cent under the 11th Finance Commission to 1.92 per cent under the 15th, and said the Centre’s contribution to the state’s total revenue had dropped from around 45 per cent to as low as 25–30 per cent. “Kerala is now forced to raise nearly three-fourths of its revenue on its own,” he said.

He also detailed revenue losses from GST rate rationalisation, estimated at Rs 8,000 crore annually, and from international trade disruptions affecting sectors such as fisheries, spices, cashew and textiles. On top of this, he said, unilateral deductions related to IGST settlements had further destabilised the state’s finances.

Also read: 25 lakh names missing: Kerala CM questions credibility of SIR drive

Pinarayi accused the Centre of imposing a “targeted financial blockade”, claiming that cumulative resource losses due to borrowing cuts, altered calculations, and deductions amounted to over Rs 1 lakh crore in recent years. He criticised the inclusion of Kerala’s contribution to national highway land acquisition within its borrowing limits, calling it a punishment for the state’s proactive approach to development.

Despite these constraints, Pinarayi said the LDF government had maintained fiscal discipline and expanded welfare. He pointed to the rise in the state’s own tax revenue from Rs 47,000 crore in 2021 to nearly Rs 80,000 crore, timely payment of salaries and pensions, the LIFE Mission housing scheme, and the increase in welfare pensions from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000 benefiting around 60 lakh people.

Targeting UDF

He also took aim at the Congress-led UDF, accusing the Opposition and its MPs of remaining silent or even siding with the Centre while Kerala’s interests were undermined. “This is a betrayal of the people of Kerala,” he said.

Also read: After LSG debacle, Left front to launch mass protests against Centre's new Bills

Calling on the Centre to immediately end what he termed financial discrimination, Pinarayi demanded restoration of Kerala’s IGST share, reinstatement of borrowing limits, and correction of GSDP calculations. “We are not asking for charity. We are asserting our constitutional rights,” he said, adding that Kerala would continue democratic resistance until its demands were met.

Appealing directly to the people, the chief minister urged vigilance against forces seeking to divide and weaken the state. “The government will stand with you in every crisis. United, no power can halt Kerala’s progress,” he said, pledging that welfare schemes would continue “whatever the sacrifice”.

Kerala Cabinet meeting on SIR

In another matter related to Centre-versus-state tussle, a decision was taken by the Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday concerning the voters’ list.

As part of the 2025 Special Intensive Revision, 2,408,503 people have been excluded from the draft electoral roll published by the Election Commission. In addition, 1,932,000 people included in the draft will have to appear again for hearings with documents to secure their voting rights, because those aged 18–40 are required to link their eligibility to the 2002 electoral roll. In effect, all these individuals must once again undergo a difficult process to establish their voting rights.

To ensure that no eligible voter is excluded, help desks will be set up at village offices to assist those unjustly excluded from the draft rolls. Where village offices lack facilities, nearby government offices will be used. Two officials will be temporarily assigned to each help desk to guide the public. District Collectors have been tasked by today’s Cabinet meeting with arranging these facilities.