The Congress in Assam today resorted to a symbolic ‘cleansing’ of a college in Assam after the Rastriya Swayamsevask Sangha (RSS) used the college premises for holding a ten day long training camp.
Congress sitting legislator from Mariani, Rupjyoti Kurmi and hundreds of his supporters went to the Mariani College and sprinkled milk as a symbolic protest to cleanse the college for the ongoing training camp of the RSS. The RSS training camp started on July 18 and is scheduled to continue till July 27.
Kurmi also demanded the college authorities and the Jorhat district administration to immediately withdraw the training camp of the RSS, which will impact on the secular image of the prestigious educational institution.
“This is unethical. How can the principal of the college take such a decision to allow the RSS to organize a training campIJ The principal did not even thought it necessary to discuss with the Governing Body of the College. I have been receiving several calls from the students of the college— who are Hindus, Christians and Muslims—all expressing their deep anguish over the ongoing training camp of the RSS,” he said.The district administration had to deploy security forces in the college due to the chaos in the premises today. While the RSS supporters were shouting slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ those supporting Kurmi were shouting ‘Jai Aai Asom’ (hail Assam).
He also slammed the BJP government in the state over this and said that this is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to influence the young brains of the students of the college towards Hindu religious ideology. “However, we are not going to allow this. We are not going to tolerate imposition of religious ideologies among the school and college students,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesman and former minister Pradyut Bordoloi addressed a press conference in Guwahati today and slammed the BJP led Assam government for trying to saffronize the educational institutes of the state.
“We do not need to shout ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ to hail our country. We have doing it by saying ‘Vande Mataram’. People are aware of the RSS ideology and what are their intentions. The whole Congress family stands behind Kurmi in his opposition to the government’s move to organize an RSS training camp inside an educational institutions,” he said.