Two Youth Congress workers were brutally attacked and hacked to death allegedly by members of the ruling Communist party near Periya in Kasaragod on Sunday (17 February), The Week reported.

The deceased Congress workers have been identified as Kripesh and Sarath Lal, both from Kalliyode near Periya.

In protest against the murder of two of its cadre, the Youth Congress has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kerala.

Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy expressed shock at the brutal murder. “It is heart-wrenching to learn that two youth Congress leaders have been killed by CPM supporters. There is no room for violence in any civilised society. I condemn this unfortunate incident in the strongest words and pray for the grieving families,” he added

The leader of the opposition in the state assembly and top Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala accused the ruling CPM of being involved in the murder and said that his party would launch a mass protest against the double murder. Chennithala will be visiting homes of the two deceased workers on Monday to offer his condolences.

"The CPM is trying to destroy the Congress party using its party goons. The Youth Congress activists were attacked without any provocation. They were not involved in any kind of criminal activities. No cases were there against them. The government should identify the culprits and arrest them as soon as possible," Chennithala told media persons.

KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran is also heading to Kasaragod on Monday.

“The slain workers were innocent. They were threatened earlier also. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should explain why they were killed. Pinarayi does not have a conscience. If he is courageous, he should ask his followers to lay down arms. The Kasaragod murders show that he is not ready to give up violence. Public conscience should come up against these murders. The Congress will continue the agitations till this violence comes to an end,” Mullapally said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also condemned the brutal killings of his party workers. "The brutal murder of two members of our Youth Congress family in Kasargod, Kerala, is shocking. The Congress Party stands in solidarity with the families of these two young men & I send them my deepest condolences. We will not rest till the murderers are brought to justice," Rahul tweeted.

CPM district secretary MV Balakrishnan Master, however, denied any role of his party in the murder. "We strongly condemn this murder. We are against murderous politics. We don't have any role in this," he told mediapersons.

The Kerala Students Union, the students' wing of the Congress, has called for an educational bandh in the state on Monday. The SSLC model exam scheduled to be held on Monday has been postponed. The revised dates would be announced later.

Only last week, the national leaderships of the Congress and the CPM decided to forge an alliance in West Bengal. They had allied during the last assembly polls in the state. CPM’s Kerala unit has also toned down its rhetoric against the principal opposition Congress.