RSS distances itself from motormouth functionary, may expel him for vitriol against Kerala CM

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has distanced itself from the episode of the derogatory statement made by one of its functionary in Ujjain against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that received severe criticism for various quarters including the CPI(M). At a public meeting in Ujjain on 1 March, the publicity chief of RSS unit of Ujjain (sah prachar pramukh) announced a bounty of Rs 1 crore on the head of Vijayan. [caption id=“attachment_2988804” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. PTI[/caption] “If anyone beheads the Kerala CM, who is the murderer of RSS activists, and brings his head I will bequeath my property worth more than Rs 1 crore to him,’’ Ujjain Sah Prachar Pramukh Kundan Chandrawat reportedly said to a gathering at Shahid Park in Ujjain. According to sources, Chandrawat may be expelled from Sangh. Distancing itself from the incident and Chandrawat’s statement, Akhil Bharatiya Sah Prachar Pramukh of RSS, J Nandkumar said, “Sangh strongly condemns the statement made by Dr Kundan (Chandrawat) in emotion. The statement made by him is not the official statement of the Sangh. Right from its inception, the RSS has remained involved in social service and building human capital, and never believed or got involved in violence. Sangh believes in protesting through democratic methods only.” “Various organisations have been staging protests across the country against the killings by Marxists in Kerala between 1 and 3 March. It has come to Sangh’s knowledge that at a similar programme in Ujjain, being organized by Jan Adhikar Samiti on 1 March, Dr Kundan Chandrawat made a controversial statement against the Kerala chief minister in his personal capacity. The opinion of RSS is that different people from different bodies participate in such programmes and make statements. In such case, these statements cannot be attributed as official ones of the RSS,” Nandkumar added. According to reports, referring to death of kar-sewaks at Godhra railway station and the communal riots that followed in Gujarat, Chandrawat said, “They killed 56, we sent 2,000 to the graveyard.’’ If sources are to be believed, the RSS would expel Chandrawat as the latter being Sangh’s publicity chief in Ujjain town brought bad name to the organization. “It’s a foolish act and he has brought a bad name to the organisation. This is against the basic culture of Sangh and strict action will be taken against him. It won’t be surprising if he’s shown the door,” an RSS source told Firstpost. Strongly condemning the act, the CPI(M) politburo said the statement made by Chandrawat reconfirms that the RSS spearheads politics of violence and terror, as has become clear in Kerala in the recent months. “But, the RSS shouldn’t forget that Chandrawat was a senior functionary of the Sangh. He was in-charge of publicity in Ujjain. The CPI(M) politburo demands that immediate action in accordance with law must be taken both by the Madhya Pradesh and the central governments. The silence of the governments is an endorsement that emboldens the RSS to issue such obnoxious threats,” CPI (M) Central Committee member and state secretary, Badal Saroj remarked. “Why RSS is silent on the arrest of two persons belonging to BJP and VHP in MP — allegedly spies of Pakistan-based ISI and one of them is close to BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya?” he questioned.