Hate speech: RSS relieves Kundan Chandrawat of his responsibilities

Bhopal: The RSS today relieved Kundan Chandrawat, whose announcement of a bounty of Rs 1 crore for beheading Kerala Chief Minister P Vijayan triggered a controversy, of all his organisational responsibilities.

"The statement by Chandrawat has spread confusion about the Sangh. Therefore, he has been relieved of his responsibilities," Prakash Shastri, Prant Sanghchalak of RSS, said in a statement issued here.

Chandrawat, the Sah Prachar Pramukh of RSS in Ujjain, had last night retracted his statement and expressed regret.

"I was pained on the issue of murders of Swayamsevaks and therefore made an emotional statement. I retract it and express my regret," Chandrawat had said.

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

At a meeting here, he had announced a bounty to avenge the killing of RSS workers in Kerala, allegedly by CPI-M workers. It sparked a controversy, drawing condemnation from the RSS, the CPI(M) and the Congress.

In a video, which went viral, Chandrawat is purportedly seen saying that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is behind the killing of RSS workers in the state and he will pay Rs 1 crore to anyone who beheads him.

He also claimed that 300 innocent people belonging to the RSS were killed but the Kerala Chief Minister was turning a blind eye to the issue.
The RSS was quick to condemn Chandrawat's 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 told PTI in Delhi.

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

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.