Kerala govt skips Raj Bhavan event over RSS-linked Bharat Mata portrait

Time of India

2 days ago

Thiruvananthapuram: The state govt on Thursday kept off a World Environment Day function at Raj Bhavan after governor Rajendra V Arlekar insisted on displaying a portrait of Bharat Mata, allegedly used in RSS shakhas, at the event.
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The state-level inauguration of the day's celebrations was later held at Durbar Hall in the state secretariat complex.
Agriculture minister P Prasad, who was scheduled to attend the function, opted out hours before the programme began. He later told the media that the state govt respected Bharat Mata, but Raj Bhavan's decision to use a portrait associated with RSS shakhas for a state govt function was unacceptable.
"Raj Bhavan made some unexpected changes in the proceedings of the function. It was informed on Wednesday evening that a floral tribute to Bharat Mata's portrait was part of the proceedings. We don't mind a picture that is generally used at such functions, but the one placed by Raj Bhavan on the dais is exclusively used by RSS at its functions. The Indian map in the picture is also not the official one," he said.
Commenting on the development, Arlekar said the state govt representatives wanted Raj Bhavan to remove the portrait from the dais, and Raj Bhavan rejected the same.
"I got a message from the govt late yesterday evening. I said we shall do everything possible, but we cannot keep away Bharat Mata. We cannot do away with the ideals for which we live," he told a private function at Raj Bhavan later in the evening and added that it could be the reason why the minister kept off the function.
Raj Bhavan had organised the function on its own after the minister's boycott. Prasad said the controversial portrait came up at Raj Bhavan very recently.
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"It was there when RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy gave a talk recently, but such a portrait was never used in official functions in the past. It's dangerous that Raj Bhavan is controlled by external forces," he said.
Gurumurthy had delivered a talk at Raj Bhavan last month after Operation Sindoor, which led to a harsh reaction from Congress leaders. Reacting to the row, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that it was wrong to convert the Raj Bhavan into a place for RSS.
Sources said the CPI minister kept off the function after discussing the matter with the CM. CPM state secretary M V Govindan congratulated Prasad for his decision, while opposition leader V D Satheesan said Raj Bhavan, a constitutional institution, could not be turned into RSS headquarters.
Former BJP state president K Surendran, meanwhile, said the minister's stand was anti-national. "It's absurd to say that Prasad's objection was over the Bharat Mata portrait used by RSS; there is no separate Bharat Mata for RSS. Being an elected representative, he is bound to respect the national symbols," he said.