MADHYA PRADESH

RSS summons Shivraj Singh over dalit violence in Madhya Pradesh

Clashes between castes had led to the death of eight people in Madhya Pradesh

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Shivraj Singh Chouhan | File

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was summoned by top RSS leaders last night at Nagpur in the wake of caste clashes in the state that led to the killing of eight people.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan rushed to Nagpur, 400 kms from Bhopal, on state plane for a closed-door meeting between Bhaiyaji Joshi, the No 2 in the RSS.

According to sources, the meeting was called to discuss the sudden eruption of caste-led violence in Madhya Pradesh. RSS leaders have expressed their displeasure over the functioning of the Madhya Pradesh government. RSS leadership was unhappy over the incidents of conflict between dalit and Hindu communities in Madhya Pradesh.

Media reports claimed that the RSS is also unhappy over the working of administrative officials in Madhya Pradesh who are obstructing work done in pursuance of the Sangh ideology.

The state is important for the RSS in its scheme of things as the organisation was holding 'Samajik Samrasta Sammelan' (convention for social harmony) in Bhopal for the past few months. The conventions were aimed at assimilation of Scheduled Castes into the mainstream Hindu community.

Earlier on Tuesday, the RSS had a two-day long meeting with BJP core group at Sharda Bihar in Bhopal. The high-level meeting was part of the coordination between the RSS and BJP.

The Bhopal meeting and Nagpur meetings are reportedly organised as part of RSS's strategy preparations for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

RSS leader Sarkaryavaha Krishnagopal and national organisational general secretary Ramlal were present at the Bhopal meeting. They briefed Nagpur headquarters about the role of the administration and police during the violence.

RSS is also unhappy over the issue of giving minister-of-state (MoS) status to five Hindu saints. It objected that Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was not consulted before granting such status.