BJP workers charged with killing RSS man

The family members of Vazhekoden Sasi, a BJP activist and the prime accused in the murder of Udayakumar, sought refuge at the Hosdurg police station after their house was set ablaze by RSS workers. The houses of the other three accused were also set on fire.

8220;They even threatened to kill us. So we fled to the police station on the same night,8221; said Sasi8217;s mother. The police have registered a case against 20 RSS workers for the attack.

The RSS workers accuse the BJP of protecting Udayakumar8217;s killers. They have put up posters saying that BJP National Council member MadakkaiKammaran, who struggled to keep the saffron flag flying in the area, had given shelter to the killers.

The leadership is worried. 8220;What has happened is very unfortunate. We have ensured that nothing of this sort is repeated in future,8221; said Kammaran.

The Sangh parivar leaders made a last-ditch effort on Wednesday to sort out the differences. BJP State president CK Padmanabhan, Kammaran and RSS leaders Sethumadhavan and TV Santhoshkumar sat together to find a lasting solution to the fratricides.

The series of fratricides began with the killing of Ashok Shetty of Ganga Nagar. Shetty, an RSS activist, was allegedly killed by BJP workers on October 26, 1996. The retaliation was swift. Praveenkumar, brother of the first accused in the murder, was killed when he was travelling in a bus.

Even as the leaders claim that the feud is now over, ordinary workers of the BJP and the RSS said that the running feud would not end as long as certain state-level leaders continued to patronise unwanted elements in bothorganisations. According to them, these leaders were responsible for the growth of criminal gangs in the RSS and the BJP.

But Kammaran is optimistic even after the retaliatory attack by RSS workers. 8220;Of course there was an attack on the houses of the accused. The women sought refuge at the police station as they feared that the attacks would continue. They returned home after we had intervened and put an end to the clashes,8221; he said.

The BJP leader also alleged that the CPM was trying to extract political mileage by giving a new twist to the whole issue. He said that the posters against him were put up by the CPM workers. 8220;They are determined to finish me off politically. This is part of such a move,8221; he alleged.

Ironically, Kasargod was a CPM stronghold where the Sangh parivar found a foothold after long and gory battles. And it was the only area where the party ever came close to winning an assembly election.