RSS leader's attempt to place 'Bharat Mata' at NSS event thwarted

Thiruvananthapuram: When the Bharat Mata row, involving an RSS propaganda picture of a lady with a saffron flag, is the subject of strong debates and controversies across the country after Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty boycotted two events organised by the Raj Bhavan over the presence of the picture, a piece of fresh news arrives from Kerala’s Thrissur that an RSS leader’s attempt place to the picture beside a social reformer’s photo at an Hindu organisation’s event was thwarted.

At the event by Kerala’s Nair Service Society, the RSS leader placed the propaganda picture beside the photo of Mannathu Padmanabhan, the founder and revered leader of the organisation.

The attempt by the RSS leader was thwarted by the NSS members, and this reportedly triggered a squabble. It was pacified by the intervention of local police, it is learnt.

The picture row started after Raj Bhavan, the state governor’s official residence, placed the picture on the stage of an official event that was supposed to be attended by the education minister along with the governor. Minister Sivankutty boycotted the event after Raj Bhavan authorities refused to remove the RSS propaganda picture. The same turn of events repeated after a few weeks, ending in the minister boycotting a second official event organised in Raj Bhavan.

Earlier this week, Sivankutty said that the state governor, Rajendra Arlekar, should remind that India’s nationalism is based on the Constitution, and it is essential to ensure that it is not based on a single cultural image but on the inclusive and democratic vision enshrined in the Constitution.

He said that the image of a woman carrying a saffron flag is no symbol of patriotism.