27 RSS workers booked in Kerala for pookkalam resembling organisation’s flag

Twenty-seven Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers and supporters in Kerala were booked for creating a pookkalam shaped like the group’s saffron flag near a temple in Kollam district.

The arrangement was placed along the main path of the Sree Parthasarathy Temple, next to another floral art that read “Operation Sindoor.”

A first information report (FIR) was filed after the temple committee complained that the design violated a 2023 Kerala High Court order. The order prohibits displaying flags and political symbols near temples.

The Sastamcotta Deputy Superintendent of Police said warnings had been given to political groups to follow the court’s directive. While other groups celebrated Onam without political symbols, the RSS arrangement displayed its saffron flag.

The 27 individuals were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disobeying lawful orders, provoking unrest with intent to cause riots, and committing a criminal act by multiple persons.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the FIR. It alleged that the case was triggered because the floral arrangement used the theme “Operation Sindoor.”

Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrashekhar demanded that the complaint be withdrawn.

“It is for the first time in India that police are registering a case on charges of making an Onam pookkalam,” he said on social media. “Absolutely unacceptable!”

An office bearer of the temple committee, Asokan C, clarified that the complaint was not about using the words “Operation Sindoor” but about the depiction of the RSS flag in the arrangement, PTI reported.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the BJP.