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Journalism of Courage
The row over CPI(M) leader Saji Cheriyan’s remarks on the Constitution, which led to his stepping down as minister last week, has now escalated as a war of words between the RSS and the Congress.
While targeting Cheriyan over his controversial remarks on the Constitution, Congress leader Satheesan alleged that the CPI(M) leader had reiterated what Golwalkar stated in his “Bunch of Thoughts” and that Cheriyan shared the RSS leader’s ideology. “Who does not know that the approach of Cheriyan towards the Indian Constitution is the same as that of the RSS,’’ Satheshan, the Leader of the Opposition, had said.
The RSS state committee on Saturday responded by serving a notice to Satheesan and warning of legal action if he failed to retract his statement.
In an outburst against the Constitution at a party function, Cheriyan had stated, among other things, that the Indian Constitution endorses the exploitation and loot of the common people.
In Kerala, where the minority vote bank is crucial for winning any election, both the CPI(M) and the Congress have always tried to accuse each other of having Sangh Parivar leanings.
Recently, the CPM had, while referring to the protests over K-Rail and the gold smuggling scandal, accused the Congress, BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits of joining hands against the party-led Left Democratic Front government. Similarly, when the CPI(M)’s party congress held in Kannur in April decided against a pre-poll alliance with the Congress at the national level in the next general elections, the Congress had accused the CPI(M) and the Sangh Parivar of working together in Kerala. Also, when the Kerala government sent a delegation to Gujarat to study the state’s dashboard system, the Congress had taunted that Pinarayi Vijayan was emulating the Modi model of development. It reminded the CPI(M) that a decade ago, the party had sacked their MP A P Abdullakutty on charges of praising Modi.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Satheesan stuck to his stand and said, “Golwalkar had stated that the Constitution is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various constitutions of Western countries. It has absolutely nothing which can be called our own. This is the same thing that Cheriyan stated about the Indian Constitution, that the British prepared it… I reject their notice with contempt.’’
The RSS responded by pointing out that Satheesan had in the past attended several Sangh Parivar events related to Golwalkar.
RSS leader and Kerala Hindu Aikyavedi general secretary R V Babu said in a Facebook post, “In 2006, Satheesan had inaugurated a seminar on religious terrorism on the occasion of the birth centenary of Golwalkar. He lit a lamp in front of an image of Bharat Mata. He did not find any fault with the RSS then. Now, Satheesan who backs Islamic terrorism, hopes that his anti-RSS stand will fetch him votes,’’ he said.
The BJP also hit out, with party state vice-president C Sadanandan Master pointing to a 2013 RSS event that Satheesan reportedly attended as a Congress legislator. “He (Satheesan) is now comparing the anti-national statement of CPI(M) leader Saji Cheriyan with the words of the honourable Guruji (Golwalkar). If Satheesan had felt that Guruji’s words were seditious, why did he then attend the RSS event in 2013 in Thrissur? Satheesan had then given a lengthy speech on the thoughts shared by Bharatheeya Vichar Kendram (which is associated with RSS). He had praised the Kendram and its activities. Now things have changed for Satheesan. This is self-deception,’’ he said.
Satheesan on Sunday did not react to the RSS’s statements.
Sangh’s strongest critics have often used Golwalkar’s views on the Constitution and Muslims to take on the RSS on its alleged hardline position. In 2018, during a lecture series organised by the outfit, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had, while referring to a new edition of Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts, said, “As far as Bunch of Thoughts goes, every statement carries a context of time and circumstance…his enduring thoughts are in a popular edition in which we have removed all remarks that have a temporary context and retained those that will endure for ages. You won’t find the (Muslim-is-an-enemy) remark there.”
