Velingkar, who was sacked as Goavibhag Sangh Chalak on Wednesday, has formed a breakaway Goaunit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with almost all local Sangh office bearers backing his move.
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Addressing a press conference in Panjim, Subhash Velingkar after taking charge of independent Goa RSS said, “last night several RSS workers have resigned from their post and now we have chose to split from Konkan pranth and form separate RSS Goa pranth”. “We want that either Subhash Velingkar should be reinstated or we (over 300 volunteers) all should be relieved along with him”, said a senior RSS member in Goa.
Velingkar is one of the tallest RSS leaders in the state and is credited with politically grooming top BJP leaders, including Parrikar and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
The Konkan unit of RSS fired Subhash Velingkar, who also heads a Sangh outfit focusing on promoting local languages, after he said he will form a political party to fight the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We are not banking on them (the main RSS), we have detached Goa unit from Konkan prant (region)”. He was “relieved” from his charge of the state by the RSS in the wake of his forum Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) persistently challenging the BJP and its government in the state as part of its campaign for making the local language Medium of Instruction (MoI) in the schools. However, the ruling BJP refused to withdraw grants to English medium schools, annoying BBSM. “We don’t know what is happening internally between the BJP and RSS but the Shiv Sena will always support the cause for which Velingkar is fighting”, he added.
A large number of RSS workers from the state last night held an “emergency” meeting for over three hours at Bambolim near here in the backdrop of Velingkar’s removal. As part of the agitation, BBSM has made announcement about formation of a political party. “New office-bearers of the Goa Vibhag will be announced shortly”, RSS’ prachar pramukh ( spokesperson) Manmohan Vaidya announced on Twitter on Thursday. “The RSS does not believe in individual worship or loyalty”.
“The Goa RSS unit will follow all the aims and objectives of the Sangh, and irrespective of the recognition from the Nagpur-based parent organisation, follow the path of ideology once led by the RSS chiefs like K B Hedgewar and M S Golwalkar”, he maintained, stressing that the Goa unit of RSS will have no affiliation to the Konkan district. “Being a Sangh leader, he can’t do that”, Vaidya said on Wednesday.
Sangh sources said the “putdown” was the only way of containing a “brewing rebellion” that could go out of hand if not quelled at the outset.
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PTI contributed to the story.
