CHENNAI: CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan on Sunday strongly condemned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Dussehra speech, saying it is aimed at inciting sectarianism and communal riots. He called upon all parties to unite and strengthen the struggle against the RSS's fundamental and communal politics.

"The speech delivered by Mohan Bhagwat is a blatant display of the vicious Hindutva politics of the RSS that promotes a sectarian agenda," Balakrishnan said in a statement.

Criticising the RSS chief for propagating a ‘fictitious’ story of religious conflicts in the opposition-ruled states including Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the CPM leader said that Bhagwat conveniently hides the fact that mob killings, sexual violence against women and children, attacks on Scheduled Tribes, targeting minorities, vandalising places of worship and bulldozer ‘justice’ are daily activities in BJP-ruled states, not otherwise. The rebuttal comes a day after the RSS chief flagged concerns over the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh at the hands of Muslim right-wing groups in the embattled nation.

"Pointing to the incidence of attacks on minority Hindus in some places in Bangladesh, Bhagwat also alleges that Hindus are not safe in India as well. The attack on Hindus, a minority living in Bangladesh, is strongly condemned. But we would like to point out to him that religious politics is the cause of such conflicts and RSS is carrying out similar sectarian political activities in our country. Attacks on the minorities are carried on here as well," he said.