Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday made a candid and rare admission in the state assembly, stating that the murder of the activists of the CPM and the BJP in Payyannur on Monday night had political reasons.

“A gang of about 10 BJP workers murdered DYFI former village secretary of Payyannur Dhanarajan due to political rivalry,” the Chief Minister told the house in reply to the adjournment motion moved by K. Muraleedharan of the Congress. “In the violence that followed, some persons killed BJP Payyannur assembly segment committee member Ramachandran.” The chief minister’s reply gave ample hints that workers of his party were involved in the murder of the BJP activist though he did not name the party.

The chief minister said the police, which has registered cases in both the incidents, has effectively intervened and brought tension under control. The Opposition UDF staged a walkout from the Assembly alleging law and order breakdown after the LDF came to power.

Mr. Vijayan said the mafias that had been flourishing in the state were scared after the LDF government started to initiate stern action. The recent murders in Kannur were revenge killings, he said and added that the police were acting without political considerations. Countering the Opposition’s alleations that Kannur was becoming a hotbed of violence, he pointed out that as per last year’s statistics, the number of murders in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad was higher than that in Kannur.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the BJP and the CPM were equally responsible for the political killings. CPM leader P. Jayarajan was controlling the police in Kannur. After the LDF came to power, 37 murders had taken place in the state, he said.

BJP MLA O. Rajagopal also walked out of the House alleging that the CPM activists were involved in all the instances of violence and that the police were taking action only in cases where the CPM activists were attacked.