The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday paid tribute to slain Kannada scholar and rationalist MM Kalburgi at a meeting in Ranchi. The Sangh’s all-India Prachar Pramukh told The Indian Express that as part of their bi-annual Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal, they remembered 80 people who died this year. Kalburgi’s killing is one of the issues that has sparked outrage about the clamping down on dissent in the country, prompting many writers and other intellectuals to return their awards and speak up in protest.

Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s parent organisation also claimed that they have condemned the incident in Dadri, where a man was lynched following rumours that he killed a calf, and said the RSS was “being unnecessarily put in the dock” for it. They claimed that Hindus were a tolerant community and were being targeted for incidents in which they had no hand. The Sangh also clarified its position on reservations, saying they should continue as long as some sections of society remained underprivileged.