RSS leader retracts statement on Ker CM; expresses regret

RSS leader Kundan Chandravat, who had announced a bounty of Rs 1 crore for beheading the Kerala Chief Minister, has retracted his statement after it drew condemnation from various quarters including the Sangh.

Chandravat, RSS Sah Prachar Pramukh in Ujjain, claimed he got some phone calls from Kerala threatening to kill him and was being targetted in social media.

"I was pained on the issue of murders of Swayamsevaks and therefore made an emotional statement. I retract it (statement) and express my regret," Chandravat said in a statement late last night.

"I also got some phone calls from Kerala in which an unidentified caller threatened to kill me," he claimed.
 

Chandravat, in a meeting here, had announced the bounty to avenge the killing of RSS workers in Kerala, allegedly by CPI-M workers.

His speech sparked an uproar, drawing condemnation from the RSS, the CPI(M) and the Congress yesterday.

In a video, which went viral, Chandravat is purportedly seen saying that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is behind the killing of RSS workers there and he will pay Rs 1 crore to anyone who beheads him and brings his (Vijayan's) head to him.

He also claimed that 300 innocent people belonging to the RSS had been killed but the Kerala Chief Minister was turning a blind eye.

The RSS was quick to condemn Chandravat's statement, stating the organisation did not believe in violence.

"The RSS strongly condemns such statement. The Sangh does not believe in violence. But we will continue to protest against attacks on our workers in Kerala in a democratic and peaceful manner," RSS national 'Sah Prachar Pramukh' (Joint Chief of Publicity) J Nandakumar had told PTI in Delhi.

Vijayan, however, dismissed the threat to his life, saying such calls would not prevent him from travelling around, while Kerala's ruling CPI(M) and Congress sought the arrest of Chandravat for his outrageous comments.

Kerala has been witnessing a series of political clashes between the cadres of BJP-RSS and the ruling CPI(M),especially in the northern Kannur district from where Vijayan hails, for a long time. Both parties have blamed each other for the cycle of violence which has claimed several lives on both sides.