The Communist Party of India on Friday criticised the ongoing political violence in Kerala and asked the ruling Communist Party of India(Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front to take stern steps. CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told PTI that Wednesday’s murder of a Bharatiya Janata Party worker allegedly by CPI(M) activists in Dharmadam was “a matter of serious concern”.

The 52-year-old BJP worker was attacked by a group of unidentified men on January 18. Santosh, who was a party candidate in the last panchayat elections in Dharmadam, was alone at home when the men stabbed him to death.

Although Reddy conceded that both parties were indulging in violence and responsible for the attacks, he said the BJP was “doing Goebbels propaganda”. “More Left people are attacked by the BJP than the other way around.”

The CPI chief believes that it is the CPI(M)‘s responsibility to take steps to curb this political violence as it was leading the government. “When the Left is in power, it should be more careful to not escalate such matters,” he said.

There have been eight political murders in Kerala since the LDF government came to power in May 2016. Both warring parties have blamed the other for the bloodshed. In October, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP of deliberately creating tension in the state. He had lauded the government for taking “all initiatives” and showered praise on the police for being impartial in their handling of the murders.