Protest in Bhopal against Kerala killings; RSS disowns Chandrawat’s remarks Protest in Bhopal against Kerala killings; RSS disowns Chandrawat’s remarks

Holding Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan responsible for the killings of “more than 300 RSS pracharaks and activists” in the state, an RSS leader from Ujjain has announced a bounty of Rs 1 crore on Vijayan’s head and promised to “offer a garland of three lakh human skulls to Bharat Mata” in revenge. Vijayan said the remarks didn’t bother him: “I reject the threat with contempt.”

Sharing the dais with BJP Lok Sabha MP Chintamani Malviya at an event in Ujjain’s Shahid Park on Wednesday, Kundan Chandrawat, who is the RSS sah prachar pramukh (joint publicity chief) of Ujjain, also reminded the gathering about the riots in Gujarat in 2002.

The RSS distanced itself from Chandrawat’s remarks, saying it “never believed in violence and believes in democratic protest” and “condemns the emotional comments made by Kundan”.

Addressing the Ujjain gathering in the presence of Malviya and BJP MLA Mohan Yadav, Chandrawat called Vijayan a “traitor” who “doesn’t deserve to live in the country”.

“Ye samajhta hai ki Hinduon ke khoon mein gaurav nahin hai Shivaji ka… Hinduon ke khoon mein wo jazba nahin. Main is manch se ghoshna karta hoon… Dr Kundan Chandrawat… sampatti hai mere paas itni isliye ghoshna karne ki himmat karta hoon… ek karod se zyada ka makan hai. Uska sar kaat ke la do, Vijayan ka, mere ko, main makan aur wo jaidad uske naam kar doonga. Aise gaddaron ko desh me rahne ka koi haq nahin. Loktantra ki hatya karne ka koi haq nahin aise gaddaron ko,” he said.

(He thinks the blood of Hindus does not have the honour of Shivaji, it does not have passion. I, Dr Kundan Chandrawat, declare from this dais, I have wealth that is why I say this… property worth more than Rs 1 crore. Cut off Vijayan’s head, and bring it to me, I will transfer my house and assets in your name. Such traitors don’t have the right to live in the country. Such traitors don’t have the right to murder democracy).”

“Teen sau pracharak aur karyakartaon ki hatya kari hai na tumne? Teen lakh narmundo ki varmala pahnaenge Bharat Mata ko, wampanthiyo sun lo (Haven’t you killed 300 pracharaks and activists? We will offer a garland of three lakh human skulls to Bharat Mata, this is a warning to Leftists),” he said. He referred to the Godhra train burning incident and the Gujarat riots that followed, Chandrawat said, “Bhool gaye kya Godhra ko? Chhappan mare the, 2,000 kabristan mein chale gaye. Ghusa diya unko andar isi Hindu samaj ne (Have you forgotten Godhra? Fifty-six were killed, 2,000 were sent to the graveyard. They were pushed beneath the ground by the same Hindu community).”

Speaking to The Indian Express later, Chandrawat said he stood by his remarks, claiming the “positive response” he had received had left him “overwhelmed”. But he clarified, “I spoke in my personal capacity and the RSS has nothing to do with it.”

RSS All-India Sah Prachar Pramukh J Nandkumar issued a statement, saying Chandrawat’s remarks were “not an official version of the RSS”.

“Several programmes are being held in the country from March 1 to 3 in protest against the killings by Marxists in Kerala and the protest meet in Ujjain was organised by the Jan Adhikar Samiti. The RSS, from the beginning, has never believed in violence and believes in democratic protest. The RSS condemns the emotional comments made by Kundan,” Nandkumar said.

Chintamani Malviya said he did not endorse Chandrawat’s remarks which were the result of “pent-up feelings”. “He was giving vent to his anger at the killing of RSS activists and the speech was a culmination of his pent-up feelings,” the BJP MP told The Indian Express.” He said the protest was not organised by the BJP.

Asked whether any action would be taken against Chandrawat, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said, “Thousands of Hindus have been killed and their bodies have not been found. All this is happening under the (Kerala) government’s patronage.”

“If the activist (Chandrawat) has said something, he must have been driven by emotions. When the minds of youngsters are polluted on JNU campus, why is there no outcry?”

Reacting to Chandrawat’s threat, Vijayan said it did not bother him. “The RSS has beheaded many persons, but that doesn’t mean I will stop moving around. I reject the threat with contempt,” he said.

Kerala CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan demanded Chandrawat’s arrest, and warned that the CPM would teach the RSS a lesson if it touched the party.

Condemning Chandrawat’s statement as “highly deplorable”, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala too demanded that he should be jailed.

The BJP’s Kerala leadership said it did not agree with Chandrawat’s remarks. Party state general secretary A N Radhakrishnan said, “It is not the style of the BJP, which is a democratic organisation. Even when hundreds of BJP activists have been killed, the party hasn’t deviated from the path of democracy. The BJP doesn’t want to see a Chief Minister killed.”

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