Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 78th death anniversary and claimed that the Sangh Parivar was still afraid of him and his memory and that is why his name was removed from the rural employment guarantee scheme.

Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said that Gandhi was killed because of his uncompromising stance on secularism and his vision of a pluralistic India that embraces diversity and disagreement.

He claimed that the Sangh Parivar was afraid of the memory of the Father of the Nation and hence his name was removed from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

"Why are they still afraid of Gandhiji? The answer is simple. Gandhiji's life and vision are the exact opposite of the politics of hatred and alienation envisioned by the Sangh Parivar," the CM contended.

He further claimed that the Sangh Parivar was trying to remove Gandhi from the lives of the ordinary people.

Vijayan said that unity in diversity was "the foundation stone of the Indian Republic" and everyone should be committed to protecting it from the "totalitarian tendencies that suppress dissent".

He claimed that there were certain forces which were trying to "rewrite history and elevate communal murderers as heroes" in order to lead the country towards totalitarianism.

The Marxist veteran said that Gandhi was "not assassinated by a man named Godse, but by an embodiment of the politics of hatred promoted by the Sangh Parivar" which is still trying to attack and destroy the Constitution and the democratic values of the country.

He said that Gandhi's martyrdom was a constant call for the anti-communal struggle.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan too claimed that the Sangh Parivar was afraid of Gandhi.

In his message on Facebook paying tribute to the Father of the Nation, Satheesan said that Sangh Parivar was even afraid of the memories of Gandhi and that is why they were "erasing books and writings" to hide things from people.

He too said that the assassin of Gandhi was not just a man, but an ideology.

Satheesan said that even though the Sangh Parivar shot him down, Gandhi still lives on after his death.

Gandhi, the most prominent face of India's freedom movement, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948.

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New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has granted 13-day interim bail to 2020 Northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case accused Khalid Saifi, on several conditions, including refraining from social media.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing the interim bail application filed by 'United Against Hate' founder, Saifi, to attend the wedding of his nephews and observe Ramzan with his family.

In an order dated January 29, the court said, "The applicant (Saifi), upon his release, shall not get in touch with any of the witnesses. Further, the applicant shall not leave the territory of Delhi, NCR, during the period of his interim bail. Further, the applicant shall not contact the Media and will not do any activity or put any material on social media at any cost".

The court granted him the relief from February 6 to February 13, 2026, on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 20,000 along with two sureties of the like amount.

"Considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, the court deems it just and appropriate to grant the desired relief to the applicant (Saifi)," the judge said.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 700 injured.

According to the FIR registered at Jagat Puri police station, a mob had assembled in Masjidwali Gali in Khureji Khas area of northeast Delhi on February 26, 2020.

The crowd refused to obey the police’s order to disperse, threw stones and assaulted police personnel, the FIR said, adding someone also fired a gunshot at head constable Yograj.

According to the prosecution, Saifi and former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan had instigated the "unlawful assembly".