'Calculated distortion of history': Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slams PM's Independence Day speech
'The attempt to portray the RSS, which was banned following Gandhi's assassination and V D Savarkar, who stood trial in the murder conspiracy, as major contributors of Indian independence is a blatant distortion of history. Choosing Independence Day to glorify those who served the British amounts to insulting our freedom struggle,' said the chief minister.
Pinarayi Vijayan said no such shameful act can whitewash the RSS, which he described as a communal organisation with a divisive past. He called the Prime Minister's act of praising the RSS on a day that symbolises national unity 'show of contempt for the very day'.
Citing the Union Ministry of Petroleum's Independence Day greeting card that placed Savarkar's image above Mahatma Gandhi's, the CM said this was part of a larger conspiracy. 'This anxiety comes from fear of the true history of India's freedom struggle,' he said.
He recalled that India's independence movement was one that saw people of every caste, religion, language, and culture standing together. 'In contrast, the RSS wore the cloak of espionage,' he added.
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