New Delhi (PTI): Blasting the Sri Ram Sene for the "outrageous" attack on women in a Mangalore pub, the CPI(M) on Thursday said these attacks were "an ugly expression of Hindutva Talibanisation" ahead of the general elections and aimed at consolidating the Hindu vote bank.

"What else is this but an ugly expression of Hindutva Talibanisation. Recollect that only the other day the Taliban had buried alive five young girls who dared to go to school," CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said.

"The Taliban prescribes the dress and behaviour code for women in the name of protecting 'culture and tradition' of women! If anyone dares to violate their diktat, then they are subjected to their horrendous treatment. In a similar vein, the SRS chief says: 'If any one violates our culture and traditions, we will not hesitate to protest' (read attack)", Yechury said in an editorial in the latest issue of party organ 'People's Democracy'.

Maintaining that 14 such incidents have taken place in Karnataka since the BJP government took over, he said "it is clear that the RSS and the Hindutva brigade will now seek to mount various assaults on modern India's secular democratic foundations and its syncretic pluralistic traditions, as the general elections approach, in order to consolidate their Hindu vote bank."