RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat to hoist tricolour in Kerala

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will hoist the national flag at a CBSE-affiliated school in Palakkad, Kerala this Republic Day. However, this may turn out to be a deja vu moment for him. Five months ago, he had unfurled the national flag at a government-aided school in the same district on Independence Day, a move that didn’t go down well with the CPM-led state government. Bhagwat, who would be in Palakkad for a three-day RSS camp, will hoist the national flag at Vyasa Vidya Peethom, a CBSE-affiliated higher secondary school. BJP’s Palakkad unit president and advocate E Krishnadas said Bhagwat would be chief guest at Republic Day celebrations at the school.

The LDF government in the state has issued a directive, stating that only head of institutions should unfurl the tricolour, BJP leaders have said the directive is not binding upon the Palakkad school as it is not run by the state but follows CBSE curriculum. The government circular dated January 17 said the ceremonial hoisting of the national flag should be done by the heads of the departments/educational institutions and the national anthem should be sung. This circular applies to 12,000 schools that include government schools, government-aided schools and recognised unaided schools, as per media reports.

Last year on August 15, Bhagwat unfurled the national flag at the Karnagi Amman School despite an order issued by the district collector a day before that only elected public representatives or school functionaries could hoist the flag. A notice was also issued to the school to explain the ‘violation’. The latest faceoff between the CPM and the RSS comes at a time when the Sangh and the BJP have stepped up their campaign against the Left government blaming it for the spate of political murders in the state, especially in Kannur. In October last year, the BJP held a statewide march where party chief Amit Shah openly hit out at chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan blaming him for political violence in the state.