An attack on a children’s Christmas carol allegedly by a Sangh Parivar activist at Kalandithara, Pudussery, in Palakkad on Sunday night drew widespread protests across the State on Tuesday.
The police arrested Aswin Raj, reportedly a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, for assaulting the children who were part of the carol group and damaging their musical instruments. In protest, activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised some 2,500 protest carols across the district.
The DYFI challenged the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to disrupt the protest carols, warning of a befitting response.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed senior BJP leaders for their disparaging remarks against the carollers and said strict action was taken against the attacker.
Mr. Vijayan said reports were already available about outfits supporting the RSS forcing some private schools to call off Christmas celebrations, following which some schools returned the money collected from students for the conduct of the celebrations. He said an inquiry was under way into such incidents. “People who prevent celebrations and demonstrate religious discrimination have been warned about consequences,” he added.
