Kolkata: Worried by the growth of Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangha (RSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked her party leaders to prepare reports on the activities of these two organisations and send them to her within a fortnight.
Mamata, who is worried about the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, is likely to assess the situation in the districts and chalk out a plan to check their activities, said a Trinamool Congress (TMC) source.
“The sudden rise of the Hindu nationalistic organisation can lead to polarisation that the country has witnessed in various states and has severely affected the outcome of the elections as was evident in Jammu and Kashmir. We do not want such an adverse effect on the state as Hindus and Muslims are living here peacefully for generations,” the TMC leader said.
Recently, RSS organised a massive rally in Kolkata, the first of its kind, and it was addressed by its chief Mohan Bhagwat, along with VHP’s chief patron Ashok Singhal and senior leader Pravin Togadia to mark the anniversary of 50 years of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Organisers, including VHP’s general secretary Chinmay Dutta, claimed that the rally was aimed at providing “new direction” to the Hindu society in the wake of recent developments in the state, including the blast at Bardhaman.
The gathering assumes significance amid the changing political dynamics of the state. It comes at a time when the TMC government is facing the heat of the Saradha scam and arrest of its party leaders.
“The rally is a part of a well thought-out policy of the BJP and Sangh Parivar aimed at the 2016 general elections in the state,” West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. “Their plans are devious as has always been [the case] — to divide the people on religious lines and it as an ominous sign for a state where every third person is from a minority community.”
Expressing disapproval of the language of the posters, TMC Member of Parliament (MP) Sultan Ahmed said it is part of a plot by the BJP government at the centre. “They came into power on the basis of good governance, but now they are showing their true intent,” Ahmed said.
Recently, ABVP won the students’ union elections in two colleges in the Maoist-infested Purulia district by defeating the students organisation of the ruling TMC. Upset at the result, Banerjee summoned the district leader Shantiram Mahato in Purulia to understand the reasons of defeat. In 2013, ABVP had just 60 units in West Bengal’s different colleges and universities.
But this year, the number has swelled to 325, and this sudden proliferation of the students’ organisation owing allegiance to BJP has irked Banerjee immensely. In West Bengal, RSS has 60,000 full-time volunteers and has organised a camp in north Bengal’s Raigunj district.
“[The] chief minister is fully aware of the developments and the state and party will do its best to curb the rise of the organisations that divide people on religious lines,” said another TMC MP.
