CM Vijayan counters 'BJP deal' charge, targets LoP Satheesan over alleged RSS links

Thiruvananthapuram, March 26 (IANS) Amid escalating political sparring ahead of the Assembly elections, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday strongly hit back at allegations by the Congress that his party is engaged in a covert understanding with the BJP in select constituencies.

The charge has been repeatedly raised by Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan, along with senior Congress leaders, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who have claimed that the CPI-M-led LDF and the BJP have a "secret deal" in around 10 Assembly constituencies in Kerala.

Responding through a sharply worded Facebook post and shared pictures, Vijayan turned the spotlight on Satheesan’s past, questioning his alleged links with the RSS.

The Chief Minister asked what "deal" was behind Satheesan’s participation as the guest at an RSS-organised M.S. Golwalkar birth centenary event held at Paravur in 2006, where he is said to have lit a ceremonial lamp after bowing before a portrait of Golwalkar.

Vijayan accused Satheesan of evading questions on the issue by diverting attention to another event in 2013 whenever the 2006 incident is raised.

He asserted that the people of secular Kerala have the right to know Satheesan’s explanation for attending and honouring Golwalkar, who served as the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS and held the post for the longest period.

Highlighting the timing, Vijayan pointed out that the event was held in February 2006 at Manakkapady School in Paravur, just ahead of the Assembly elections, raising questions about its political context.

He further referred to a 2022 revelation by the state President of the Hindu Aikya Vedi, who alleged that Satheesan had sought RSS support during the 2001 and 2006 Assembly elections.

Vijayan noted that Satheesan has yet to offer a clear response to these claims.

The Chief Minister said it would be reasonable for people to suspect that the Golwalkar event was part of an attempt to secure RSS backing, and demanded that Satheesan clarify what "deal" existed in Paravur in 2006.

--IANS

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