THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a brief lull, the rift between BJP state president V. Muraleedharan and general secretary A. N. Radhakrishnan has come out in the open. On Sunday Mr Radhakrishnan demanded an inquiry into RSS activist and murder-accused Santhosh placing a turban on Rajnath Singh. But Mr Muraleedharan rejected the demand as trivial.
At a press meet in Kannur, Mr Muraleedharan tried to play down the issue saying he was not present at the venue at Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple on Saturday. Former BJP national secretary P. K. Krishnadas, Thiruvananthapuram district president S. Suresh and BJP spokesperson V. V. Rajesh had accompanied Mr Rajnath Singh to the temple.
Mr Muraleedharan added that the issue was not serious. But when reporters told him that Mr Radhakrishnan had already demanded to know how a murder-accused was present at the venue, Mr Muraleedharan clarified that it was his colleague’s personal opinion.
“The party has not decided to enquire into the turban issue. This is not the first time a murder-accused has tried to present a turban to a union minister. Till the final judgment by the Supreme Court comes, he cannot be called guilty,” said Mr Muraleedharan.
He also added that CPM leaders like Pinarayi Vijayan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and the late E. K. Nayanar, who were accused in various murder cases, had attended public programmes of dignitaries. Meanwhile, a section of BJP leaders sent fax messages to Mr Rajnath Singh highlighting the situation.
