Speaking to the media in Kochi, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Thursday reiterated that he stood by what he had recently said at a public meeting convened by CPI(M) in Kannur

Kodiyeri had stirred up nothing less than a hornet's nest with his controversial speech in Payyannur recently. 

His response comes at a time when a special team has been formed to verify the visuals of the speech, after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a complaint with the state DGP.

“There is nothing illegal in what I said. Self-defense is not illegal. My words purely meant that one should exercise the right to self-defense and I did not attempt to incite violence,” he elaborated. 

“If I had in fact done so, should not there be political unrest in Kannur?” he asked.

Kodiyeri also apparently expressed his willingness to cooperate with the probe and that he was even willing to go to jail over what he said. 

It was in Payyannur that Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had recently reportedly thundered that no political attacks should go unanswered:  “If somebody comes to attack us, they should not go back the way they came. In order to take on the enemy, party cadres must be given physical training.”