'SIR, bulldozer rule': IUML-run panchayat denies RSS ground for Vijayadashami event amid Youth League protest
The Indian Union Muslim League-controlled Muliyar panchayat cancelled the RSS booking for a public ground, citing potential communal disharmony and upcoming cultural events, following strong protests from local party members.
The Indian Union Muslim League-controlled Muliyar panchayat cancelled the RSS booking for a public ground, citing potential communal disharmony and upcoming cultural events, following strong protests from local party members.
The Indian Union Muslim League-controlled Muliyar panchayat cancelled the RSS booking for a public ground, citing potential communal disharmony and upcoming cultural events, following strong protests from local party members.
Kasaragod: The Indian Union Muslim League-controlled Muliyar grama panchayat in Kasaragod has decided not to allow the RSS to use its Abul Kalam Azad Ground for the concluding public meeting of its Vijayadashami route march on Sunday, October 25. The decision came amid protests by the Muslim Youth League, which complained that allotting the ground to the RSS would send a wrong political message amid concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and bulldozer actions against minorities in BJP-ruled states.
The panchayat board decided at a meeting on Thursday, October 22, after the Muliyar panchayat Muslim Youth League committee lodged a complaint with the panchayat secretary and the IUML leadership, demanding that the allotment be reconsidered.
The ground, owned by the panchayat, had been booked for the RSS event through the K-SMART portal after paying ₹500, said panchayat secretary K Premalatha. The right-wing organisation planned to hold a public meeting at the ground in Bovikanam after its Vijayadashami route march.
In its complaint, the Youth League argued that allowing the RSS to use a public ground belonging to an IUML-run panchayat was politically and organisationally inappropriate. "The decision by the Muslim League-ruled panchayat to allot the ground to the RSS, described as a hardline Hindutva organisation that seeks to drive religious minorities out of the country through measures such as SIR and bulldozer rule, has sparked strong protests among party workers and those who believe in democracy," said the statement issued by the unit's president and secretary, Sameer Chalkkara and Sameer Alamma.
The Youth League demanded that the decision to allot the Abdul Kalam Azad Ground for the public meeting concluding the RSS route march in Bovikanam be reconsidered.
When contacted, panchayat president K B Muhammed Kunhi said opposition to the allotment came not only from the Youth League but also from within the IUML.
However, he maintained that the decision to deny the ground to the RSS had been taken before the Youth League submitted its representation.
"We got the representation in the evening, but we took the decision in the morning," he said.
Panchayat secretary Premalatha said the booking was cancelled because the ground was required for events associated with the Keralaotsavam, the state's cultural festival.
In the 18-member panchayat board, the UDF has 12 members, including 10 from the IUML and two from the Congress. The LDF and the BJP have three members each. The BJP, which had only one seat in the previous term, wrested two from the LDF to take its tally to three.
Panchayat president Muhammed Kunhi said the board could not allow an event that could disrupt harmony in the panchayat.