In a new circular ahead of Republic Day, the Kerala Government has declared that only head of departments at various public offices, schools and colleges in the state can hoist the National Flag on Republic Day. The diktat comes after the controversy last year, when RSS Chief Mohan Singh Bhagwat, had defied orders from the state government and hoisted the Tricolour at a public school on Republic Day.
Bhagwat is expected to hoist the flag at Sangh-run Bharatiya Vidya Niketan in Kallekadu this year. However, he is also scheduled to hoist the National Flag at a school in Palakkad.
When questioned about the move, Dr Dinesh Varshney, CPI leader said, “If hoisting is allowed for everybody, it may be misused.” BJP Party spokesperson had called the move, “utter nonsense”.
There is a history of conflict between the Left parties in Kerala and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. With tacit approval from the liberal establishment, communists under the Pinarayi Vijayan led government have become emboldened in their persecution of the Sangh karyakartas in recent years. RSS workers are regularly murdered by communists. In such a scenario, with the law and order situation going from bad to worse, the latest circular by the Kerala government appears to be an act of vendetta against a political opponent.