CM BS Yeddyurappa received the full backing of the RSS; Mohan Bhagwat lauded his successful efforts in fostering linguistic harmony between Kannadigas and Tamilians.
Beleaguered chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Sunday received the full backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, lauding his successful efforts in fostering linguistic harmony between Kannadigas and Tamilians.
He praised Yeddyurappa for playing a key role in ensuring linguistic harmony between Kannadigas and Tamilians at a time when chauvinism is increasing in the country. Bhagwat was critically referring to the recent incident in Mumbai when Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) MLAs physically assaulted Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi in the assembly for taking oath of office in Hindi instead of Marathi.
Bhagwat’s pat on the chief minister’s back is seen as significant by political observers as the recent crisis in Karnataka, arising out of the Janardhana Reddy-led rebellion in the Yeddyurappa ministry, witnessed behind-the-scenes friction between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leaders and the RSS top brass.
The RSS-BJP one-upmanship in Delhi saw the deference of an early resolution to the crisis in the state. It was based on the pro-Sangh parivar leanings of Yeddyurappa, as against the non-RSS background of Reddy, and their respective political masters in New Delhi holding the strings.
Bhagwat left no stones unturned in his praise for Yeddyurappa for fostering friendship between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Addressing an RSS public meet, Bhagwat said, “After independence, it was for the first time that two chief ministers (Yeddyurappa and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi), forgetting politics, agreed to unveil (Tamil poet-saint) Thiruvallavur’s statue in Bangalore and (Kannada poet–saint) Sarvagna’s statue in Chennai. This is the best example of fostering harmony among people of two different linguistically divided states.”
Bhagwat was referring to the mid-August event when Karunanidhi visited Bangalore to unveil Thiruvalluvar’s statue, while a week later, Yeddyurappa returned favours by unveiling Sarvagna’s statue in Chennai.
The praise from the RSS chief also gains significance in the background of frequent tensions between Kannadigas and Tamilians over various issues, mainly the sharing of Cauvery waters, which saw bloody riots in December 1991.
Referring to the attack on Abu Azmi in Maharashtra assembly, the RSS chief said, “If anybody takes an oath in English, it’s something else. But there is nothing wrong in taking an oath in Hindi, which is our national language. I agree that regional languages are under threat, but we should not quarrel over languages; we should unite for the sake of our country’s development.”
Bhagwat trains guns on the UPA govtAddressing the public meeting, RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat took serious note of the Sino-Indian border dispute, terrorism and other issues staring the nation in its face. “We are not safe both externally and internally,” he said.
He suggested that security be beefed up to protect the nation from external aggression. He regretted that the Centre was lenient in combating terrorism. Bhagwat though began his speech by saying, “I came here to address RSS workers. So I will not speak about politics.” But he soon switched over to talking politics.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding about the RSS. Most think it to be a political outfit, which it is not. It is easy to criticise the Sangh from outside. But to enjoy sugar you have to taste it. Likewise, join the Sangh to know what it exactly is,” he said.
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