The Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of India (CPI) issued a statement condemning the murder of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh.
ICP, 6 September 2017
In the statement issued by the General Secretary, S. Sudhakar Reddy, the CPI severely condemned the dastardly murder of senior journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. She was shot at her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru late on September 5.
'The incident shocked the nation' said the statement, 'She is murdered for fighting fearlessly against communalism and Hindutva forces.' The statement underlined that Gauri Lankesh fought for freedom of press and exposed many misdeeds of establishment. 'If the forces of right reaction and communalism think they can eliminate voices of reason by silencing them through murder, the party wants to make it clear that they are mistaken.'
It was reminded that her death came two years after the leading progressive thinker and researcher M M Kalburgi was shot dead in his Dharwad home in 2015. The party also recalled that earlier Dr Narendra Dabolkar, anti-superstition activist, and Com. Govind Pansare, CPI senior leader and rationalist, had been were shot dead by Sanatan Sanstha assailants in Maharashtra. It said, 'The leaders of the right-wing Hindu outfit Sanatan Sanstha were arrested but are now on bail. It is not accidental that all of the murders are meticulously planned and organised in the same way.'
The CPI called to ban such terrorist organisations and to order a CBI enquiry into the murder of Gauri Lankesh. The party also sent its condolences to the family members of Gauri Lankesh.