Pro-Godse slogans at protests against Kalicharan's arrest: CPM attacks MP home minister

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday asked Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra to break his silence on the glorification of Gandhiji's assassin Nathuram Godse from some quarters as well as the arrest of Hindu religious leader Kalicharan for abusing the Mahatma.

Kalicharan was held from MP by Chhattisgarh police last week after he used an expletive for Gandhiji and hailed his death while addressing a religious meet in Raipur there on December 26.

Why is Mishra, who cried foul after the police from the neighbouring state held Kalicharan, now silent over protests in Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Jabalpur and Gwalior against the arrest, during which slogans in praise of Godse were being heard, the Left party asked.

The CPM Madhya Pradesh secretary Jaswinder Singh said Mishra, who is also the spokesperson of the MP government, should speak about whether he is with ''Gandhi or Godse'', adding that the state home minister was not bothered about the Constitution or the country's federal structure and his aim was to peddle the Sangh Parivar's agenda.

He said Mishra was guardian minister of Indore and alleged that shelter to Godse supporters during protests in the state's commercial hub could not have been possible without his support.

A mob of 50 unidentified persons were booked during the day for a protest held on Sunday in Indore in support of Kalicharan, with a video showing participants raising slogans praising Godse.

''The fact is that a race is on between MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Narottam Mishra to spew communal venom to get closer to the RSS, which is a danger to communal harmony,'' the CPM release alleged. Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga said, ''Mishraji was not at all against the arrest of Kalicharan Maharaj but against the manner in which he was rounded up in the night, which was in violation of the federal structure of the Constitution.” “The Congress government in Chhattisgarh did not keep the MP government in the loop which is unconstitutional. The BJP has immense respect for Mahatma Gandhi. The opposition was not practicing what Gandhiji preached. This is a disturbing trend which needs to be deplored,” she told PTI.