The BJP-controlled Palakkad municipality’s decision to name a school for disabled children after RSS founder K B Hedgewar has come under criticism from the CPI(M) and Congress.
Congress and CPI(M) councillors clashed with their counterparts in the council meeting, which ratified the decision to give Hedgewar’s name to the upcoming special school. Palakkad is one of the few local bodies in Kerala controlled by the BJP.
Opposition councilors turned up for the meeting with placards reading “Who is Hedgewar”.
BJP leader and municipal chairperson Prameela Sasidharan on Tuesday said, “There is no change in the decision. BJP is ruling the municipality and we will decide on naming the institutions. The Congress and CPI(M) can protest against the decision.”
Pointing to some institutions in Kerala having been named after Variamkunnath Kunhahammed Haji — a leader of the 1921 Mappila rebellion — Sasidharan said, “The town hall in Malappuram is named after Haji. Was he a freedom fighter? We will decide whose name to be given for the school.”
Congress legislator from Palakkad, Rahul Mamkoottathil, said, “This is an ideological issue. We will counter this move politically and legally. Only through violence can BJP and RSS implement their communal agenda.”
Congress state president K Sudhakaran and Opposition leader V D Satheesan will visit Palakkad on Tuesday evening to take forward the protest over the naming of the school after the RSS founder.
The CPI(M) also held a protest outside the municipality. Party district secretary E N Suresh Babu, who inaugurated the meeting, said,”We will never allow BJP to name an institute after a traitor. Congress is helping the RSS to implement their agenda. The Congress’s agitation on this issue is just drama.”
Two weeks ago, Hedgewar was at the centre of another controversy in Kerala when his portrait was displayed during a temple festival. The temple, Sree Krishnaswamy temple in Kollam, is controlled by the state government-run Devaswom board. The board has ordered a probe into the matter.
