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The Kerala government's decision to officially list organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad along with the Shiv Sena as religious fundamentalist outfits has forced the Sangh Parivar to consider initiating legal proceedings against Chief Minister A K Antony.
On Monday, Antony announced in the state assembly that eight pro-Muslim and five pro-Hindu organisations functioning in Kerala have been labelled as extremist and religious fundamentalist groups.
The government's official list of fundamentalist outfits includes the RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Aikya Vedi, Jam Iyyathul Ifsania, Islamic Dawa Movement, National Development Front, Majlis Tarbiyathul Muslimeen and the Jamaat-e-Islami.
"Antony has labelled these Hindu groups as religious fundamentalist outfits to protect Islamic terrorist groups operating in the state. We will file a case against the Kerala government if it does not take them off the list," RSS state secretary A R Mohanan told rediff.com on Wednesday.
Mohanan demanded that Antony come out with a proper definition of religious fundamentalism and provide evidence to prove that the RSS and the other pro-Hindu groups are religious fundamentalist organisations.
Over the years various court verdicts have proved beyond doubt that the RSS is not a religious fundamentalist organization, he said pointing out that 'even government employees are not barred from working for the RSS'.
The RSS leader alleged that Antony's move to tarnish the RSS and other Hindu groups as fundamentalist outfits stemmed from the fact that the ruling United Democratic Front government is backed by Islamic fundamentalist forces led by the Muslim League.
Perhaps what has caused the most heartburn is the presence of a mainstream political party like the Shiv Sena in the list.
"It seems Antony does not know that the Shiv Sena is a registered political party with the Election Commission of India. In fact, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi is a member of the Shiv Sena," M Bhuvanachandran, the party's Kerala unit president, pointed out.
"We are being defamed while Islamic extremist outfits like the People Democratic Party, led by Abdul Nasser Madani who is facing nearly 40 criminal cases, do not find a mention in the list," Bhuvanachandran complained.
PDP founder Madani is one of the prime accused in the Coimbatore bomb blasts case of 1998 and is now lodged in a jail in Tamil Nadu. Madani had launched the PDP soon after the Union government banned his Islamic Sewak Sangh (ISS) in 1992 for its extremist views.
Bhuvanachandran said the Shiv Sena is exploring legal options to sue Antony.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has also come to the rescue of the Sangh Parivar.
Taking strong exception to the Antony government's move to include mainstream social and political parties in the list, BJP state president C K Padmanabhan said that the chief minister's announcement is a mockery of democracy.
Padmanabhan said he has asked the chief minister to immediately review the government's decision.
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