Kerala Hindu Aikyavedi leader K P Sasikala, notorious for her inflammatory speeches, threatened secular writers on Sunday saying the fate of murdered Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh also awaits them.

Addressing a meeting in North Paravur in Ernakulam district, 250 km north of the state capital, she urged such writers to perform a “Mruthunjaya Homam” (a ritual to escape from the clutches of death) at Lord Shiva temples if they did not want to meet the fate of Lankesh who was shot dead in Bangaluru last week.

Her speech which was widely shared on social media has riled both the government and the opposition.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condemned the speech and directed the police to take necessary action. “The attempt to divide people on the lines of religion and caste will be viewed seriously. It is sad such utterances also reached Kerala,” he said.