A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the 100 years of RSS as a “very proud and glorious” journey of the “world’s biggest NGO”, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Saturday said “the attempt to bestow parenthood of the Independence to RSS is a denial of history as well as an insult to the freedom struggle”.
The Prime Minister, in his Independence Day speech, had lauded all RSS volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation. “A hundred years ago, an organisation was born – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh. Its hundred years of service to the nation have been a very proud and glorious page (in history),” he said.
The Congress-led Opposition had on Friday targeted the PM, saying his comments were an “insult to the freedom struggle”.
Vijayan, in a statement, said, “The attempt to attribute the parenthood of independence to the RSS, which was banned post-assassination of Gandhi, and to V D Savarkar, who faced trial in the conspiracy, is a denial of history. Selecting Independence Day to glorify those who had been subservient to the British is meant to insult the freedom struggle.”
“With such ludicrous steps, an organisation like RSS with a toxic history of divisive politics cannot be whitewashed. The Prime Minister, choosing his Independence Day speech to glorify RSS, is tantamount to insulting that very day itself,” he said.
Vijayan also came out against the photo of V D Savarkar above Mahatma Gandhi on the Independence Day greeting card of the Ministry of Petroleum. “It seems to be part of a larger conspiracy. What is getting reflected is the fear of those who are afraid of the history of the freedom struggle,” he said.
The CPI(M) politburo member said Indians had rallied for the independence struggle, setting aside differences over caste, religion, attire, and language. RSS was then in the role of traitor, he said, adding that it had openly expressed opposition to the fundamental principles of the freedom struggle movement.
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He said the Hindu Mahasabha led by Savarkar, who had prostrated before the colonial powers, had decided to boycott the Independence Day celebrations. Now, there is an attempt to project Savarkar as a leader of the freedom struggle instead of Mahatma Gandhi, he said.
“Do those who called to observe August 14 as partition horror day have reverence towards Independence Day? RSS shoulders the weight of hatred and communal riots. The glorious history of the Indian freedom struggle is not meant for them,” he said.
