(Khaleej Times Online)
Rajasthan govt sacks official for comments against RSS
From our correspondent
10 February 2007
JAIPUR — The Rajasthan Government has sacked a deputy director rank of the State Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIIPR) following ‘certain objectionable’ references to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in a book.
The controversial publication, Aaina (Mirror) written by P.K. Meena, an officer of Deputy Director rank in DIPR, carried in Hindi references to RSS such as “Rajasthan's first woman Chief Minister has not only proved her staying in power but also challenged the fundamentalism of the RSS. She has amassed so much confidence that by now she is talking about a reshuffle of the Cabinet".
The book, which formed part of publications readied by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations on completion of three years of the Vasundhara Raje Government in Rajasthan last December, was distributed in January this year.
Though the contents had more references eulogising Raje’s rule and her balancing act with ‘elements’ in the Bajrang Dal, the RSS and VHP, they went unnoticed till a section of the media highlighted it. The BJP and the Sangh Parivar leaders demanded action against the author and after holding a summary inquiry against Meena, he was sacked from the department.
Some senior DIPR officials said since the articles in Aaina were taken from newspapers and magazines without any editing, the remark against the RSS is the view of the writer concerned and not the government. However, this did not pacify the BJP and the RSS and they demanded immediate removal of the author. “It’s unfortunate that such a remark has been published in a government book. Even if the article has been taken from newspaper, it should have been edited,” a BJP spokesperson said.
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