Tamilisai slams Tamil Nadu government over court-cleared RSS marches

Tamilisai Soundararajan criticised the Tamil Nadu government at an RSS centenary route march in Chennai. She said forcing the organisation to seek court permission reflected its persistent misrepresentation.

In Short

• Processions were conducted across 128 locations to mark the organisation's centenary
• She alleged criminals roam freely despite authorities citing security concerns
• Opposition leaders were accused of repeatedly portraying the organisation negatively

Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday criticised the Tamil Nadu government for making the RSS approach the courts for permission to hold route marches, describing it as a disciplined service organisation, Press Trust of India reported.

Her remarks came as the RSS held processions across Tamil Nadu to mark its centenary. The marches followed a recent Madras High Court order allowing the organisation to conduct processions at 128 locations.

Speaking to reporters at the RSS route march in Egmore, Chennai, Soundararajan criticised the present and previous state governments for not granting permission voluntarily.

She alleged that while “drug abusers and culprits are roaming freely” and there was “no law and order situation at all” in the state, the government cited law and order concerns to deny permission for a peaceful march.

Soundararajan also criticised political leaders, including VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan and CPI(M) leader Shanmugam, accusing them of repeatedly presenting the RSS in a negative light.

“The true nature of RSS is mispropagated in Tamil Nadu,” she said, urging the state government to recognise it as a service organisation and voluntarily grant permission for its activities in the future, according to PTI.

Soundararajan, who comes from a family with a Congress background, also recalled her first encounter with the RSS while working as a house surgeon at Thanjavur Medical College. She said RSS volunteers from Tiruchirappalli came forward to donate blood to a patient who urgently needed a transfusion after vomiting blood. The volunteers did not reveal their identities and their donation saved the patient's life.

“From that time, I started participating in Seva activities of RSS, blood donation camps, and medical camps,” she said. She added that she had written a book titled ‘A Century of Service’ as a mark of gratitude to the organisation, which is entering its 101st year.

Soundararajan said the central message of the route march was unity, discipline and service to the people. “Real social justice we can see in RSS. We don't know which caste or religion they belong to, even minorities are there,” she said.

She reiterated that the Tamil Nadu government should recognise the RSS as a service organisation and grant permission for its programmes without requiring it to seek court intervention.

- Ends