Pavan Dahat: Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad Dares Mohan Bhagwat To Contest Elections
NAGPUR, Maharashtra: Addressing a public meeting right next to
the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh’s administrative headquarters in Nagpur’s
Reshhimbagh area on Saturday, the Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar
Azad alias “Ravan” demanded a ban on the ultra-right organization and
dared its chief Mohan
Bhagwat to contest elections. The Bhim Army chief’s
event was held at the Reshimbagh ground, which is situated right next to the
RSS’s administrative headquarters Smriti Mandir in Nagpur and hardly a
kilometer away from its official headquarters in Mahal area of the city. The local police had
denied permission for this rally fearing law and order issues it could create
but the Nagpur bench of Bombay High
Court granted permission for it on Friday.
The court’s permission
came with certain conditions including not to give a political or inciting
speech in this rally. But that did not stop
Azad from targetting the RSS and its chief whom he accused of conspiring to end
reservation from the backdoor and not having belief in the country’s
constitution. “Nagpur police were
right when they said in the court that two ideologies are clashing here ( At
Reshimbagh ground). We believe in the Constitution and these (RSS) people
believe in Manusmriti,” Azad said pointing towards the RSS’s Smriti Mandir
evoking loud cheers from his supporters.
“This country will be
run as per the Constitution only. Manuwad will end only when RSS will be banned
in this country. We also know that the RSS runs BJP which is why the BJP’s PM
comes here and folds hands in front of the RSS chief. They talk of the
constitution but they want to implement the Manusmriti. I challenge the RSS
chief to do away with masks and come out and fight elections. Its a democracy,
fight elections and people will tell you if Manusrmiti will be implemented or
Constitution,” Azad said.
The Reshimbagh ground
has symbolic importance as almost all the important events of the RSS including
the RSS chief’s all-important annual Vijayadashmi speech happen on this ground
which is situated right next to the Smriti Mandir where all senior RSS leaders
are put up while in Nagpur. The Bhim Army chief
also took a dig at the RSS for not unfurling the national flag in its
headquarters. “The tricolor is our
life and it will be unfurled everywhere in the country. Today, the fight is
between the Manusmriti and the Constitution. The Constitution connects
people but the Manusmriti divides. But it is the Constitution that will rule
the country. Governments change but mentality doesnt.
Everyone wants Bahujan
votes but they won’t talk about our issues after coming to power,” he alleged. He termed the CAA,
NRC, and NPR a part of a larger conspiracy to make certain religious minorities
and Dalits as secondary citizens.
“But we can see
through this conspiracy. Article 19 gives you the right to protest against the
government or court’s order. I don’t talk of bullets like UP CM Yogi Aditya
Nath does. I dare him and BJP to fire bullets at us. You can kill innocents but
don’t forget, the government will change one day and every injustice will be
avenged. Every criminal will be punished when Bahujan Raj (Majority rule)
comes. They want to do Votebandi of everyone who is anti-BJP. Kanshiram used to
say when you cant bring the majority in Parliament, bring it on the streets so
that the government doesnt become autocratic like today’s government has. It
doesnt care about people and makes laws whenever they want... The Court asked me
to respect the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister should also respect the
people of this country and its constitution. Don’t expect respect from me if
you can’t do that. This country doesn’t belong to anyone’s father. This is
everyone’s nation and no one can stop me from holding a rally here and anywhere
in India,” Azad asserted.
He appealed to the Uddhav
Thakeray government to stop NPR. “If you don’t do it, we will
treat you as our enemy and we will protest against you.” He also challenged the
RSS chief for an open debate on the issue of reservation.
“Those, who begged for
forgiveness to the British, are not great persons,” Azad said in an apparent
reference to Vinayak Sawarkar and added that the country should be grateful to
its religious minorities especially the Muslims. “The country should
thank our Muslim brothers and sisters. They didn’t come out on streets to
protest on Article 370, Triple Talaq or Ram Temple issue. They come out to
protest for constitutional rights,” the Bhim Army chief said and appealed
everyone to make Sunday’s Bharat Bandh in protest of CAA, NPR, and NRC a big
success.
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