AT its Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha in Bangalore last week, the RSS removed its sahasarkaryavah (joint general secretary) K C Kannan, 52, from the post after he was reportedly found to be in a relationship with a woman. As per the norm, a Sangh pracharak has to remain celibate.
The joint general secretary ranks third in the RSS hierarchy. Kannan, who became one of the four joint general secretaries in 2012, was reported to be in a relationship with the woman for the last three-five years. While he was not available for comment, sources said he had admitted that he was having an affair.
According to sources, during the RSS national executive meeting in Kochi in October, Kannan had communicated his intention to go back to family life after the national leadership came to know about the affair.
He, however, claimed that while he was praying, he had a ?revelation? that a woman would come into his life. ?We do not believe that version. If he had such a revelation, he could have asked the leadership to drop him from the top post. He could have continued in the organisation as a worker, not as a pracharak,?? said RSS sources.
The decision to remove Kannan was reportedly delayed to cushion the impact on the organisation.
?For the RSS, the post of pracharak is an institution. He should remain single and celibate. By maintaining a secret relationship with a woman, Kannan has insulted the institution. If he had longed for family life, he could have abandoned the role of pracharak in a transparent manner much earlier,?? said sources.
While the Bangalore meeting did not take a decision on whether Kannan should be accommodated in the RSS as an ordinary worker, he is unlikely to be taken in, added the sources.
The RSS national leadership is of the opinion that a few Kerala leaders knew about Kannan?s affair, but tried to cover it up.
Kannan, who grew from a taluk-level pracharak in his home district of Pathanamthitta to the post of sahasarkaryavah, was one of the promising leaders from Kerala. Many in the organisation believed he would make it to the top post of the RSS.
