Tamil Nadu Denies Permission for RSS March on Gandhi Jayanti

The Tamil Nadu Police has denied permission to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to conduct a ‘route march’ at 51 locations in the state on October 2 citing the law and order situation in the wake of the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).

The denial of permission comes despite a Madras High Court (HC) order on September 22 allowing the RSS march and public meetings with reasonable restrictions. 

“At a time when the state government is making all-out efforts to maintain law and order across the state apart from taking precautionary steps, permission has been denied to RSS and other organisations for taking out rallies and organising public meetings on October 2,” an official release read.

The DMK government also said that it will not permit other organisations as well to hold marches or rallies after the Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi (VCK), with the support of Left parties, had announced a ‘communal harmony’ rally to counter the RSS march. 

WHO IS THE DECIDING AUTHORITY?

Even before the police announced a blanket denial of permission for marches, the RSS had issued a legal notice to top state government officials over the Tiruvallur district police rejecting its request for permission.

RSS advocate B Rabu Manohar had asked home secretary Phanindra Reddy, DGP C Sylendra Babu and other top officials why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against the Tiruvallur police for disobeying the HC order.

“It is the duty cast upon the police to give adequate protection, enabling the successful completion of the mission without acting otherwise,” Manohar said in a petition.

Ever since the court allowed the RSS march, Opposition parties in the state, including the VCK and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), have been urging the government to prevent it.

The senior counsel for VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan appealed to the First Bench of the HC to hold an urgent hearing on his miscellaneous petition, which requested for recalling the September 22 order of the single-Judge Bench.

The court refused to entertain the petition and said that no writ petition or appeal can lie against the order of the single Judge before the Court. Petitioners can approach only the Supreme Court, said acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Krishna Kumar.

Senior journalist RK Radhakrishnan told Newsclick that “each pillar of democracy should understand its powers and act accordingly”. “What is happening here is the court has come into the domain of the administration and is trying to tell the government, ‘Puducherry has given permission; why can’t you give permission?’”

Radhakrishnan added, “Puducherry is a place with a few lakh people. A law and order issue cannot get really out of hand in a place that has only those many people. And, its geography and topography itself are so small. But in Tamil Nadu, the RSS is asking for permission in 50 cities and the police are telling that the PFI has been recently banned and there could be repercussions because of that.”

RSS IN TAMIL NADU

The RSS has always found it tough to hold marches in Tamil Nadu with the them-chief minister J Jayalalithaa refusing permission for years. The marches shortly resumed after her death in 2016 under the leadership of O Panneerselvam. However, they were stopped again due to pandemic.

The recent call for march by the RSS assumes significance in the wake of a massive political push by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to make inroads into the state.

“The obstacle for these people is the image of being the murderers of Gandhi. On October 2, we all talk about Gandhi but we also talk about Godse. To change this image, they will do anything on that day. They may even carry Gandhi’s photos. They are basically opportunists,”  senior journalist Vijaya Sankar said during an interview to NewsMinute.

“The RSS and the BJP are unable to easily make inroads into Tamil Nadu. The main reason for it is the ideological base here with a strong anti-Hindu and anti-north Indian stand, and also the long tradition of self-respect, reservation and state rights,” Sankar added.