D Raja, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, Tehseen Poonawalla, JNUSU VP Shehla Rashid and Prof Shamsul Islam expose RSS.
PIL against vigilante Gau Raksha groups filed by Tehseen Poonawalla today
New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh on Friday came under strong attack and was accused of being a fascist, communal and autocratic organisation controlling the Modi government and bent on tarnishing the secular fabric of the country.
Speaking at a seminar on “RSS and its fake nationalism,” organised by Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla, Digvijaya Singh said, “To the RSS, posts of Prime Minister and President are nothing but puppets. It is an organisation that wants to enjoy power without any responsibility and aims to crush the secular character of country.”
Initiating the debate, Mr Singh pointed out that nationalism can never be fake. “However, the RSS is an organisation that can camouflage its face. If you may recall its ideologue Govindacharya had said PM Atal Behari Vajpayee was a mukhouta (mask),” he said.
“Mindset of the RSS is to establish dominance of Hindus. The RSS has more than 150 organisations working under it and their total approach is to divide on religious lines,” he added. The Congress leader alleged that the RSS wanted to change history of India and impose cultural nationalism being propagated through Dina Nath Batra-type of half truths.
“The RSS ideology needs to be fought as it is a threat to the diversity of this country. Sabka saath sabka vikas is only a jumla (string of words) for them. All liberals and secular people need to get together to fight this cancer together,” he added.
Making introductory remarks Maharashtra Congress secretary and civil rights activist Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Our objective should be to unite liberal and secular forces. Fake nationalism by the RSS needs to be brought to light.”
He stated that similar conference would be held at 500 places in the country — and also in Nagpur — to provide historical evidence that the RSS was against Mahatma Gandhi, the tricolour and was hand in glove with the British during the freedom struggle.
Social activist Tehseen Poonawalla too sought to create a united front against the RSS ideology, which he alleged stood for divisiveness and Fascism. He announced that on Saturday the 13th of August he would approach the Supreme Court through a PIL against vigilante Gau Raksha groups. Following this a PIL has been filed with the SC vide diary number 27263/16 seeking a ban on vigilante Gau Raksha gangs.
Also lending support to the anti-RSS stance, CPI leader D. Raja said, “Ever since Modi became PM, the RSS has come to centrestage of polity in the nation. The Sangh doesn’t fight polls and is not answerable to anyone, but it is dictating to the government. It is an extra-constitutional power and a fascist communal organisation whose ideology needs to be exposed.”
Without naming any organisation, he asked the audience, “Who killed Gandhi? He was killed in a prayer meeting. He was a practising Hindu, but he was killed. Everyone knows who killed him and who is building a temple to commemorate the killer?”
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, DU professor Shamsul Islam and JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid also addressed the symposium.
AAP’s Sanjay Singh taking jibe at the RSS, Singh said “speaking against RSS is being projected as speaking against nation”. Tearing apart RSS’ stand over nationalism, Islam said the organisation is a “threat” to Hindus more than that to Muslims or Christians and urged Parliamentarians to expose its views in Parliament.