Kasargod: “Pakistan is not the enemy of India, but poverty and unemployment are,” said JNU students union former president and All India Students Federation (AISF), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI) president Kanhaiya Kumar.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to Kasargod on Sunday, Kanhaiya said that the government is evading its responsibility by not responding to the real problems.

Stating that a struggle against communalism has now become imperative, he said that it is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure that communalism does not find ground to establish its roots in India.

Talking about killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, he said that even rationalists like Pansare, Kalburgi and Dabholkar were killed not because of political reasons, instead they were all killed because they were questioning the communal forces.

“The Sangh is resorting to killing the voices that speak against them. The time has come that various fronts and leagues come together to fight the communal forces, ” he said.

Earlier, he was extended a grand welcome. State revenue minister E Chandrashekaran, CPI District secretary Govindan among others were present. Security was beefed up in the region on backdrop of his visit.