a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
DYFI launches protest against BJP tying rakhi on anganwadi students
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: DYFI workers on Saturday took out a protest in front of the Varkala child development project officer's (CDPO) office after photos of BJP leaders tying rakhis on anganwadi children as part of the Independence Day celebrations went viral on social media platforms. Close to 25 protesters were arrested and later released, said a DYFI leader who alleged that the BJP and RSS leaders tied rakhis (a sacred thread tied on brothers by their sisters) to the students of 11 anganwadis.
'On August 14, the CDPO instructed the teachers through a WhatsApp voice note that rakhis should be tied to the students as part of the Independence Day celebrations.
The rakhis, similar to those worn by Sangh affiliates, were tied to the hands of the children,' DYFI leader Lenin Raj told the TNIE. He said that six anganwadis in Elakamon, three in Idava, and two in the Varkala municipality conducted similar programmes on Wednesday. Adding that children, too, might have tied rakhis amongst themselves, the leader stated that DYFI sees the incident as an extension of the RSS saffronisation propaganda.
However, the CDPO refuted the allegations. 'My instruction was to tie rakhis to children, as many of them loved making tricolour rakhis, and were urged to wear one,' she told the TNIE. The officer said that she forgot to mention the term 'tricolour' in the voice note, which she sent to the teachers, and called it a 'fault' from her side.
Mentioning that the BJP leaders who tied these rakhis were the ward councillors, she said that no RSS leader was part of these programmes anywhere. 'I have no political interest in this,' she mentioned, adding that there will be only a maximum of five anganwadis where such an event happened. Meanwhile, BJP ward councillor Priya Gopan termed the controversy 'unwanted'. 'Who said that rakhi was part of RSS politics? There is no law that bans the tying of rakhis,' the Kannamba councillor told the TNIE.
