Goa’s rebel RSS leader Subhash Velingkar on Sunday welcomed the appointment of a new state chief calling him a “good swayamsevak”, but also said that a section of Sangh workers in Goa was afraid to resist “unfair restrictions” imposed by the organisation’s leadership.
Advertisement
Velingkar has over the last few months, accused the Goa BJP and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, accusing both of allegedly cheating voters over the issue of medium of instruction in Goa’s primary schools, also blaming the latter for his sacking.
Addressing the first conclave of the rebel RSS unit in Goa, Velingkar attacked the BJP for destroying local culture and appeasing minorities beyond acceptable limits.
Velingkar also said that the BJP even promised the restarting of the pro-Portuguese Fontainhas cultural festival – Goa’s unusual festival of the arts – in an election manifesto for a recent bypoll in Panaji, a constituency formerly represented by Parrikar himself.
Behare has been associated with the RSS in Goa for over 47 years and has been in-charge of several responsibilities allotted to him by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Velingkar and his supporters had detached themselves from the Konkan Prant, and formed the Goa Prant, directly communicating with the Nagpur Headquarters.
BBSM has been vociferously opposing grants to English medium schools in Goa and led agitations against the Laxmikant Parsekar government demanding that primacy be given to Marathi and Konkani languages as the medium of instruction (MoI) in schools.
The Sangh on Saturday appointed a new sanghachalak for Goa.
“According to Sangh system, office bearers can not work in the political sphere”.
Velingkar, an RSS veteran in Goa, was given the marching orders on August 31 after Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), of which he is a convener, expressed its intention to contest the 2017 Assembly elections against BJP.
“BBSM’s work has support of the Sangh, but the issue can not be resolved by agitations and joining politics”.
Velingkar in fact reminded the Swayamsevaks a quote of Hedgewar: “the Sarsanghchalak can be wrong, but not the Sangh”.
Advertisement
“We follow all the teachings and philosophy of the Sangh”. Government spends money from people’s taxes. “Those relationships don’t get affected but that does not mean that we will not be true to our ideology”, the RSS leader said. “Konkan prant will keep on appointing people”, he said. “I have spoken to Velingkar sir”, he said.
