A day after sending a notice to Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan for his comments on RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, Sangh Parivar organisations sharpened their attack on the Congress leader, accusing him of hypocrisy.
In a Facebook post, Hindu Aikya Vedi leader R.V. Babu shared pictures of Mr. Satheesan lighting a lamp in front of a picture of Golwalkar before inaugurating a seminar on religious fundamentalism in 2006. He said the Congress leader had earlier sought the help of the RSS to win the Assembly election from the Paravur constituency. “The RSS was not anathema to him at that time. But now, he feels that pandering to Islamic fundamentalism and spewing hatred against the RSS will work out to his advantage in the changed political scenario in the State”.
Another RSS leader Sadanandan posted a picture of Mr. Satheesan participating in a function organised by the Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in 2013. “If Satheesan nursed such a hatred for Golwalkar’s ideology, why did he attend the function? Was he not aware of the organic relationship between the RSS and the Bharatiya Vichara Kendram? He had also made a remark about pseudo-secularism at the function,” he said.
How it started
The verbal exchange between Mr. Satheesan and the Sangh Parivar had erupted on Saturday after the Congress leader stuck to his averment that former minister Saji Cherian’s controversial remarks about the Constitution resonated with those of Golwalkar and refused to respond to the notice sent by the RSS.
Reacting to the war of words, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said it had exposed the deep-rooted links between the Congress and the BJP in Kerala through the RSS. Terming the two parties birds of the same feather, he said they traded votes to help each other during elections. “They are also on the same page in attacking the Chief Minister and impeding the State’s development”.
On Constitution change
Meanwhile, BJP leader P.K. Krishnadas also waded into the issue with a Facebook post that the ruling dispensation was committed to Indianising the Constitution. “There is no dispute that the Constitution of India represents a distorted concept of secularism. While true secularism requires the government to remain aloof from religion and religious matters, in India ruling dispensations are interfering in religious matters and ensuring reservation based on religion. Legitimising religious laws also goes against the spirit of secularism. Such changes are imperative but without disturbing the fundamental tenets of the Constitution,” Mr. Krishnadas said.
