'Just 24 hours after Hamas leader...': Union minister on Kerala serial blasts
THREE BLASTS TOOK PLACE IN KERALA'S ERNAKULAM DURING A PRAYER MEETING AT A CONVENTION CENTRE IN KALAMASSERY. CONDEMNING THE EXPLOSION, UNION MINISTER RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR SAID THAT KERALA IS TURNING INTO A STATE THAT "BREEDS RADICALISM".
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has linked the serial blasts in Kerala to the virtual speech by a Hamas leader at a protest programme in the state.
"Just 24 hours after a Hamas leader was given the platform to spread jihad, blasts have rocked Kerala," Chandrasekhar told LAKSHY DREAM FOUNDATION GLOBAL NEWS
Three blasts took place in Kerala's Ernakulam during a prayer meeting at a convention centre in Kalamassery. The blasts have so far killed one person and injured 52 people, officials said.
"Kerala is turning into a state that breeds radicalism. I am a Malyali and Malyalis need to say enough is enough," Chandrasekhar added.
He also held the Congress and the Left parties in Kerala responsible for the serial blasts in Kerala's Ernakulam.
The Union minister's remarks came a day after Hamas leader Khaled Mashal had participated virtually in a pro-Palestine protest programme in the state.
Kerala BJP chief K Surendran urged both Kerala police and central agencies to investigate the incident further.
Besides, top CPI(M) leaders in Kerala, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and called for a ceasefire on Sunday.
Participating in the dharna, Vijayan said that by not condemning the "massacre of Palestinian people", India is being "complicit" in this.
Meanwhile, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran also lashed out at the Kerala government and Pinarayi Vijayan and said that the Kerala blasts were a result of a "lack of vigilance".
"The Kalamassery blast is shocking and there has been a serious failure on the side of the home department and intelligence. In a state like Kerala, making a bomb and planting it requires a clear plan. There was a serious lapse on the side of intelligence in detecting this," Sudhakaran said.
Kanam Rajendran, the CPI State Secretary in Kerala, also condemned the blasts and said, "When the entire state is fighting for world peace by declaring solidarity with Palestine, it is condemnable that such an incident happened in Kerala."
Kerala's Director General of Police Shaik Darvesh Saheb confirmed that the blasts at the convention centre in the Kalamassery area were caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).
A man named Dominic Martin claimed responsibility for the blasts. He surrendered to the police in the Thrissur district and claimed to have planted the bomb at the explosion site. However, police are yet to confirm his involvement in the case.
Authorities in Kerala are on alert, especially around railway stations and bus stations. Besides, border states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also heightened security checks.
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