New Delhi (Sputnik) — The poster put up in Nedukandam in Idukki district, announcing the CPI-M area committee meeting, has armed the party's critics who have called it a flagrant insinuation of the CPI-M's approval of the North Korean leader's "belligerent" and "violent" ideas.
The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decried the posters, making it the subject of a national debate.
The central leadership of the communist party has distanced themselves from the controversy but local leaders are justifying the poster as an attempt by the party to project its "anti-American" posture.
"Kim is the one and only communist leader who dares to challenge the US President Donald Trump. He is a die-hard fighter against American imperialism which has killed thousands while playing the role of the world's cop. For us, that's the most important thing. We do not consider other elements of Kim's personality," CPI-M district secretariat member P N Vijayan told the English Daily Times of India.
Kerala was the first Indian state to elect a communist party government in the year 1957. Over the years, the state has witnessed an ugly struggle between the left-wing parties and the saffron brigade (Hindu nationalists) that has been trying to wrest away power in this communist bastion.