Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday announced on the floor of the state Assembly that the state government will bring in a legislation to ban arms training in religious institutions. The New Indian Express reported that the CM also stated that he will look into the allegations of violence by the BJP and the RSS.
Last month, a former RSS workers in Kerala, S Vishnu, had alleged that he was tortured by the Sangh. Noting that many former RSS workers had also publicly stated the nature of training provided in ‘Sakhas’, the CM said that he will also look into these allegations.
BJP leader K Surendran, in his speech on Friday in Mangaluru, said that the BJP and the RSS in the state had indulged in political violence and had committed murders. “During the last Assembly election we got 30 lakh votes at 16 per cent. Even when we secured five lakh votes we retaliated very time there was a murder. But now we don’t do that. But we will not leave you,” Surendrann said. CPI (M) MLA M Swaraj, then had filed a case against Surendran’s speech.
“There are too many big mouths in our society, but we are not scared of them,” Pinarayi told the assembly.
Earlier, in January this year, the CPI (M) had accused RSS of conducting weapons-training camps in the state during the Christmas holidays. The party had even demanded a probe into the matter, calling out it an ‘illegal practice of the RSS’.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, at that time, had accused the RSS of running its Shakhas in temples and of conducting weapon training. The minister had then demanded that RSS be banned from holding its meetings in temple premises in the state.