An Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary on Thursday kicked up a row when he announced a Rs 1 crore bounty for beheading Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, but the Sangh fountainhead distanced itself from his remark.
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 Communist Party of India-Marxist workers.
"The Kerala chief minister is killing our RSS workers who want to take this country forward.
"So I have announced a Rs 1 crore reward for the one who beheads such a killer chief minister. I will pay him by selling my assets," Chandravat was shown saying in a video clip which vent viral.
The RSS, however, distanced itself from Chandravat's remarks, with a top national-level functionary saying he did not even know him.
"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 Nanda Kumar told PTI.
Kumar said he does not know who Chandravat was.
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," the 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.
Kerala is witnessing violent political killings of RSS and CPI-M workers, with the two organisations locked in a bloody feud.
