Jehadi extremist Abdul Nasser Madani is facing trail at Coimbatore prison in Tamil Nadu for involvement in the serial-blast case, which was aimed at eliminating L.K. Advani in 1998.
Ever since the Congress-led UDF came to power in Kerala in 2001, Madani's party, PDP, has been exerting pressure on Antony to take up the matter with Jayalalitha and obtain parole for him. This is despite Tamil Nadu turning down repeated requests by various top leaders of the Congress and Muslim League and Kerala police opposing his parole citing law and order/communal problems. The various visits of top leaders of the UDF like Oomen Chandy, R. Balakrishna Pillai and retired Supreme Court Judge V.R. Krishna Iyer to the Coimbatore prison, not only exposed the unholy nexus between jehadis, UDF and pseudo-human rights activists but also exposed the UDF's commitment for Madani's release. This gave encouragement to the PDP to organise a violent secretariat march at Thiruvananthapuram on October 31 demanding Madani's release.
The march, which started at 11 a.m. from the Museum grounds, was preceded by speeches of UDF MLA R. Balakrishna Pillai, PDP leaders Poonthura Siraj and Mohammed Bital. The speech made by R. Balakrishna Pillai was highly provocative and inciting. He described L.K. Advani, Narendra Modi, Dr M.M. Joshi. and Uma. Bharati as extremists and terrorists and Madani as a humanist. He ridiculed Lord Rama and Krishna and made fun of the Sangh for going after these 'false' gods. The speeches of the PDP leaders were also inflammatory and provocative.
As the highly surcharged mob of 10,000 reached the secretariat shouting anti-RSS, anti-Jayalalithaa and Hindu-derogatory slogans, the police did nothing to control them. They remained mute spectators. The mob, as if pre-planned, scrambled over the secretariat gate and destroyed flowerpots and plants. Then for almost four hours, they were on a looting and destruction spree. Hundreds of shops were attacked and looted, women and college students molested, hundreds of parked scooters and cars destroyed. The capital city of Kerala was under the control of Islamic looters and molesters from 11 am to 4 pm and they were performing the dance of destruction holding the city to ransom and siege. An attempt to bum a petrol pump was foiled by the public by turning off the main valve, as otherwise hundreds would have been burnt to death. The media persons covering the march were specifically targeted. Many of them including the correspondent of the pro-RSS Janmabhoomi daily, Sreekumar, were injured in stone pelting and beating with flagstaffs. Despite all these the police on instructions from their political masters remained mute spectators. It was only after the public mobilised against the arsonists that police swung into action and chased away the mob.
Kerala is a land of protests and agitations, but the violence let loose by Islamic extremists on October 31 is unparalleled-in the history of Kerala. Public and private property worth crores was destroyed, hundreds were attacked and women molested.
The Convener of the Hindu Unity Front, J. Sisupalan and the State Secretary of the VHP Manikantan visited the Governor Sikander Bakht and- the Chief Minister A.K. Antony and urged them to prosecute R. Balakrishna Pillai for making an inflammatory, provocative and inciting speech. Later talking to media-persons, they said the violence was preplanned. They attacked the UDF for continuing efforts to release Madani on parole. They said the unprecedented violence was a pointer and if Madani comes to Kerala, then riots similar to the Moplah riots of 1920s will take place. They said the jehadis have been saying that they will make Kerala a Kashmir and the rampage have proved them right.
The BJP district president Gopalji
and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists also condemned the wanton violence
and barbarianism of the militants.