BAMBOLIM : The members of the rebel faction of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in state, during a convention held on Sunday, resolved to continue support to the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), and officially reinstated all the office bearers, who had resigned from the Konkan unit of the RSS, in their respective positions in the faction.
The regional language crusader and Marathi protagonist Subhash Velingkar vowed to back the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch movement unconditionally and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party at the hustings.
Velingkar said, “We have lent support to Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) and the RSS has given full freedom to contribute towards the agitations which are nationalist in nature.”
The gathered members vowed to follow the ideology of Hedgewar and Guruji and as “sangh is the only organisation which has its ideology as its Guru. We consider saffron flag as Guru and not any individual as Guru.”
They also vowed to protect Hindu religion, Hindu society and Indian culture besides accepting the decision unanimously to appoint Velingkar as the pramukh of the faction.
Velingkar said that the government should have stopped grants being given to the primary English medium schools, and if this government retains power, it will destroy the culture.
The convention of the RSS faction was a show of strength following the RSS central leadership sending a stern message that dissension would not be allowed in the organisation by appointing Laxman alias Nana Behare as the state unit chief.
Addressing the convention, attended by nearly 2,000 members at Cujira-Bambolim, Velingkar defended his move to float a parallel outfit saying some leaders wanted to dictate terms to them and they could not compromise on ideology.
He said, “Sarsanghchalak can be wrong, but the sangh cannot,” and added that “you will not find a single swayamsevak who agrees with the BJP’s move to support English language at the primary level and grants to Diocesan Society’s schools.”
Velingkar was ‘relieved’ as Goa RSS chief on August 31 after the BBSM hinted at floating a political party to counter BJP in the 2017 assembly polls.
Thereafter, Velingkar’s supporters had detached themselves from the Konkan unit of RSS and formed ‘Goa unit,’ which the RSS leadership has refused to recognise.
Velingkar cited an extract from sangh founder K B Hedgewar’s autobiography, in which he has narrated his experience with child volunteers and their conversation with him.
“Hedgewar himself had told the child volunteers that Sarsanghchalak can be wrong, but sangh cannot be wrong,” he added.
“We did not embrace the RSS with closed eyes, or because someone asked us to join. We joined the sangh as the inspiration came from within and we will remain swayamsevaks till our last breath,” he said adding, “many a time due to circumstances and war-like situations, we have to deviate from our regular behaviour.”