On Sunday (29th October), CPI(M) leaders including Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and party leader Sitaram Yechury participated in an anti-Israel protest in Delhi. These leaders protested outside AKG Bhawan over the Israel-Hamas war with the message “Stop this Genocidal Aggression on Gaza”. The Kerala chief minister was present at the protests in Delhi at a time when bomb blasts were reported in his state.
One woman was killed and around 40 were injured in multiple blasts at a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting at a convention centre at Kalamassery, Ernakulam in Kochi district on Sunday morning.
#WATCH | Delhi: CPI-M leaders including Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and party leader Sitaram Yechury protest outside AKG Bhawan over Israel-Hamas war with the message "Stop this Genocidal Aggression on Gaza" pic.twitter.com/UosXc8D0S8
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023
CPI and CPI(M) earlier issued a joint statement
In a joint statement issued on Saturday (28th October), the CPI and the CPI(M) said that India’s abstention from voting on a United Nations resolution calling for a truce in Gaza is “shocking” and shows that the country is shaping its foreign policy as “a subordinate ally of US imperialism”. The protests were thus organised at the AKG Bhavan office of CPI (M) in Delhi on Sunday to express solidarity with Palestine.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and his CPI counterpart, D Raja issued a joint statement titled “Stop this Genocidal Aggression in Gaza”. In this statement, they said India’s move negates its longstanding support for the Palestinian cause. The statement read, “It is shocking that India abstained on a resolution overwhelmingly adopted by the UN General Assembly calling for a humanitarian truce titled ‘Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations’ in the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza.”
The left parties said, “Respecting the overwhelming mandate of the UN General Assembly that there must be an immediate ceasefire. The United Nations must re-energise itself to implement the mandate of the Security Council for a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.”
Pinarayi Vijayan joined the protests ignoring bomb blasts in his states
The protests were organised on the last day of the three-day meeting of the CPI (M) that started on Friday. With other communist leaders, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan attended these protests when his home state was rocking with bomb blasts. He prioritised sympathising with Gaza over looking after the victims of the bomb blasts in Kerala.
#WATCH | Delhi: At the protest over the Israel-Hamas war with the message 'Stop this Genocidal Aggression on Gaza', Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says, "We are here to protest against the inhuman genocide that is going on against the Palestinian people and the support being extended… pic.twitter.com/673KmD1QjR
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023
In his speech at this protest, Pinarayi Vijayan said, “We are here to protest against the inhuman genocide that is going on against the Palestinian people and the support being extended to Israel by the government of India in blatant violation of time-tested policy of solidarity with the Palestinian people who fight for their own land. It is really shocking that the government has gone to the extent of abstaining from discussion of the UN resolution, supporting Israel and the US.”
Bomb blasts in Kerala
On 29th October, a woman was killed, and around 40 were injured in multiple blasts at a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting at a convention centre at Kalamassery, Ernakulam in Kochi district. The injured were rushed to the Government Medical College Hospital. As per reports, a charred body has been recovered by the Fire Department personnel from the site. The number of victims might rise. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been called for the investigation. It is notable that Jehovah’s Witnesses is a Christian denomination.
Reports suggest that multiple blasts took place at the convention centre, with social media users reporting 3 to 4 blasts. Police have said that multiple explosions took place at around 9 AM on Sunday morning, but didn’t give a number. Kalamassery CI Vibin Das said the first explosion took place around 9 AM and multiple blasts followed thereafter, over the next one hour. Some of the injured sustained injuries in the blast, while others got injured while trying to get out of the convention hall.
