An RSS functionary today sparked an uproar when he announced a Rs one crore bounty for beheading Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, drawing condemnation from the Sangh fountainhead, CPI(M) and Congress.
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 the RSS functionary for his outrageous comments.
Kundan Chandravat, 'Sah Prachar Pramukh' of RSS in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, announced the reward to avenge the killing of its workers in Kerala, allegedly by CPI-M workers.
"The Kerala Chief Minister is killing our RSS workers who want to take this country forward. I will pay Rs one crore to anyone who beheads him even if I have to sell my house," Chandravat was seen saying in a video, which went viral.
"300 innocent people (belonging to the RSS) have been killed but Kerala Chief Minister has turned a blind eye to it," he claimed at the function.
"Is there no courage in the blood of Hindus? I, Dr Kundan Chandravat announce from this stage that as I have property, the house alone is worth more than Rs one crore and I have the guts. I will transfer it to anybody from Ujjain who beheads him and brings his (Vijayan's) head to me," he said in brazen remarks which did not go down well with even the RSS.
The RSS was quick to distance itself from Chandravat's remarks.
"The RSS strongly condemns such statements. 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," the organisation's national 'Sah Prachar Pramukh' (joint chief of publicity) J Nandakumar told PTI in Delhi.
Kumar, who is a top functionary in the RSS's propaganda wing, said he does not know who Chandravat was.
"Sangh Parivar has chopped off heads of many. That won't prevent us from travelling around," Vijayan told reporters in Kochi, dismising the threat to his life.
Later in a facebook post, Vijayan said he rejected the threat with "contempt".
"In Madhya Pradesh, a Sangh parivar leader has declared a reward for Pinarayi Vijayan's head. I saw this news report. RSS has indulged in murders in several places. Just because of that, it is not possible for us not to walk on roads.
"I dismiss with contempt the 'kolaveli' (murder call) of RSS," Vijayan said.
Hitting out at the Sangh, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted that Chandravat's comments "revealed true colours of RSS as a terrorist outfit".
Yechury also questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government over the remarks.
"The silence of the government is an endorsement that
emboldens the RSS to issue such obnoxious threats," te CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement.
By this the RSS has reconfirmed that it spearheads the politics of violence and terror as has been clear in Kerala in the recent months, it said.
The party also demanded immediate action in accordance with law against Chandravat by the state and the central governments.
The Ujjain district RSS chief Sudhir Choudhary said the Sangh does not entertain such type of talk and language.
Asked if the organisation would take action against Chandravat, he said the matter would be looked into.
The ruling CPI-M's state secretariat in the Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram condemned the RSS leader's statement and said the party would hold protest across the state tomorrow.
The statement clearly showed the RSS's "face of terror", it said and demanded Chandrawat's arrest under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Leaving its differences with the CPI(M)-led LDF aside, the opposition Congress in Kerala also condemned Chandravat, while the state unit of BJP distanced itself from his remarks.
The call of the "RSS fascist is highly condemnable... They seem to have forgotten that India is a democratic country," Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said.
BJP's state unit general secretary A N Radhakrishnan said, "This is not the style of BJP. BJP is an organisation which functions in a highly democratic manner.
"Even though hundreds of BJP workers have been killed, the party has not diverted from this stand. The national leadership of RSS has disowned the person who made the statement. People of Kerala know very well which party protects murderers," he said.
In December last, Vijayan had to skip a reception organised by the Kerala Samaj in Bhopal after the state police advised him against attending it due to a planned demonstration by Sangh fraternity outfits at the venue of the function.
CPI(M) had then protested against the police's failure to provide security to the visiting Chief Minister, alleging that the BJP government in the state was functioning for the RSS alone.
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.
