Disclose the ‘deal’ with RSS in 2006: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to V D Satheesan

KOCHI: Amid accusations and counter-accusations between the LDF and UDF leaders over RSS/BJP links, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday asked opposition leader V D Satheesan to clarify "what deal led him to participate as the inaugurator at the Golwalkar centenary celebration organized by the RSS in Paravur, where he bowed before Golwalkar's photo and lit a lamp".

The people of secular Kerala have the right to know Satheesan's response regarding his participation in the 2006 Golwalkar centenary celebration, Vijayan said in his FB post on Thursday.

"When asked about this event, he consistently deflects by referring to another event from 2013. The timing of Satheesan's participation in the event to honour Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS and its longest-serving leader, is also significant. The event took place in Feb 2006 at Manakkapady school in Paravur just before the legislative assembly elections," he said.

"In 2022, the state president of the Hindu Aikya Vedi revealed that Satheesan sought RSS support in the 2001 and 2006 assembly polls. The opposition leader is yet to provide a clear response on this matter. He must finally clarify what deal was there in Paravur in 2006," the CM added.