(Mail Today, 18 October 2010)
RSS celebration backfires in UP
By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow
THE RASHTRIYA Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has triggered a controversy over the way it celebrated Vijayadashmi, which is also the foundation day of the organisation, in Jhansi and Aligarh.
While children carrying weapons participated in the Shashtra Puja (worship of arms) in Jhansi, the Sangh members indiscriminately fired in the air in Aligarh.
At the Jhansi function, held at Saraswati Shishu Mandir, a 10- year-old boy named Gunnu was seen with a pistol. Over 100 men and children attended the function.
But Anil Srivastava, the district in-charge of the RSS, claimed that it was a toy-gun. “Worshipping weapons is an old practice that signifies our desire to protect the nation. The boy’s parents had given him a toygun,” he said.
On the premises of Aligarh’s Heeralal Barasane Inter College, over 500 RSS members fired several rounds in the air.
Banwarilal, a local RSS leader, said all members possessed a valid licence. “We want to show the country that we are prepared to fight against China and Pakistan. We consider Vijayadashmi as an occasion to prepare for a war against the enemies. There were only 500 members at our function. But there are several lakh RSS men who can go to the border to assist our army. We are ready to face any enemy,” Banwarilal said.
Congress party spokesperson Akhilesh Singh said: “In Aligarh, while the elders opened fire, their children were collecting empty cartridges. In Jhansi, even children were practising the use of fire arms. It is illegal. We demand action against them.”
