Shobha Karandlaje demands arms for all Sangh Parivar activists

BENGALURU: A day after senior BJP leader Suresh Kumar called for RSS workers to be allowed to carry licenced arms, his party colleague and former minister Shobha Karandlaje went a step further, demanding permission for activists of the entire Sangh Parivar to carry authorised weapons.
Karandlaje was in Shivajinagar, attending the funeral of Rudresh R, the RSS leader who was killed by two bike-borne men on Sunday."I totally agree with him (Suresh Kumar). We are being attacked in Kerala, Tamil Nadu; Sangh Parivar activists are being killed. We are not safe in South India. If police are not ready to provide security, they can give us weapons. We will secure ourselves," she said.
Karandlaje's endorsement of Kumar's demands comes after both the BJP and RSS distanced themselves from his remarks, affirming that it was not the official position espoused by the organisations.
At a demonstration organised to protest Rudresh's murder on Monday, Kumar had said that the murders of four RSS workers - Praveen Poojari, Raju, Kuttappa and Rudresh - reflected the inability of police to lend protection. "We have asked the police commissioner to give us licenced weapons if they can't protect our workers. We are not victims. We are warriors, who know how to protect themselves," he said.
However, sources in the RSS reiterated their faith in police and judiciary. But, they added that they would continue their protests, albeit in a peaceful manner, to seek justice for Rudresh's murder.
Kumar was not in attendance at Rudresh's funeral proceedings on Tuesday.