Kerala Chief Minister V D Sathisan on Sunday denounced the participation of three university vice-chancellors in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event addressed by its president Mohan Bhagwat, calling it a “serious misstep” and unbefitting of the state’s educational traditions.
“We view with utmost seriousness the participation of three Vice-Chancellors in the RSS centenary celebration addressed by Sarsangchalak Mohan Bhagwat. This is a serious lapse. Their actions are not befitting the educational traditions of Kerala and the dignity of their office,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X.
The Congress Chief Minister asserted that the people of the state hold the position of Vice Chancellor in high esteem and that by attending a program led by an RSS leader “who preaches extreme communalism”, such investment associations have undermined this respect.
“Any act promoting communalism, by whomever committed, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The three vice chancellors who attended the RSS program should apologize to the people of Kerala,” he wrote.
Secular Kerala views the participation of venture capital funds in the RSS centenary event “with utmost seriousness”, Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan said.
“There are discussions about imposing the Sangh Parivar agenda in state universities. This is a clear example of how the RSS is trying to impose its control over the higher education sector in India,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Rajiv Chandrasekhar on Sunday criticized the Prime Minister for condemning the three Kerala vice chancellors who attended the RSS event and criticized the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government for practicing “appeasement politics”. In a social media post, Chandrasekhar said the Prime Minister has no moral authority to lecture others on secularism or constitutional values.
The BJP leader alleged that the United Democratic Front government was relying on the support of organizations advocating religious politics.
“It is unacceptable that the Prime Minister who took oath to uphold the law and the Constitution is now intimidating the Vice Chancellors for attending a public program with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,” he alleged.
“The days of treating the BJP and the RSS as a means of creating fear and canvassing votes are over. The people of Kerala now realize that when it comes to appeasement politics, the Congress and the Communist Party of India are not two, but one,” he claimed.
Kerala University of Health Sciences VC Mohanan Kunnummal, Mahatma Gandhi University VC in-charge Mavoothu D and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University VC-in-charge CR Prasad on Saturday attended a lecture delivered by Bhagwat in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Bhagwat spoke at the ‘100 Year Journey of the Sangh – New Horizons’ organized as part of the RSS’s centenary celebrations here.
