Amid macabre political killings in Kerala, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday accused the state’s ruling CPI(M) of unleashing its cadres for “eliminating rivals and creating an environment of violence”.

Jaitley, who was here to provide a healing touch to the family of RSS worker Rajesh, allegedly killed by CPI(M) cadres on July 29, mounted a scathing attack on the LDF government, saying incidents of violence increased every time it came to power.

“Every time the LDF is in power, incidents of violence increase. The kind of wounds that were inflicted on Rajesh would even have embarrassed terrorists,” he told reporters.

Earlier, addressing a condolence meeting for Rajesh, Jaitley said the ruling party cadres were being “eliminating its political opponents and creating an environment of violence”. The CPI(M), he said, needed to introspect.

Jaitley, who visited the family of Rajesh in the morning, accused the police of bias, insisting it was a “silent spectator” when RSS and BJP workers were attacked and killed.

The BJP-RSS and CPI(M) cadres are locked in a bloody battle of attrition in the state which has claimed several lives on both sides. There has been a spurt in such incidents in the recent past as the BJP seeks to expand its base in the state.

The CPI(M), meanwhile, countered Jaitley’s claims by organising a ‘Satyagraha’ in front of Raj Bhavan where relatives of 21 of its cadres done to death allegedly by the RSS were present. They demanded that the union minister also visit their homes.

The CPI(M) accused the RSS-BJP combine of spreading “false propaganda” about political violence in the state.

CPI-M’s state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged that incidents of political violence had increased only after the visit of BJP President Amit Shah in early June.

The BJP was implementing “Amit Shah’s plan” in the state by engaging in violence, Balakrishnan alleged.

Jaitley, whose visit to the state is being widely seen as an attempt by the BJP to bring under national focus the issue of alleged increasing attacks on party cadres by the CPI-M, also questioned the “complete silence” of those who otherwise speak against similar incidents in other parts of the country on the “continuing saga of violence in Kerala”.