The Madras High Court has granted permission to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to conduct their state-wide march on November 6, instead of October 2. The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Karthikeyan, the Joint Secretary of the RSS against the Tamil Nadu police. Following outbreaks of violence and arson in several locations in Tamil Nadu due to the National Investigative Agency’s (NIA) crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the subsequent ban, the Tamil Nadu police and the state government had denied permission for the RSS march, fearing further violence. Since the RSS had earlier obtained permission from the Madras High Court to conduct their march on October 2 so a contempt of court petition was filed. While issuing its order, the Madras High Court warned the Tamil Nadu police that if permission was to be denied again on November 6, they were likely to face contempt proceedings.
On September 22, the Madras High Court granted permission to RSS with reasonable restrictions to carry out their march at various locations in Tamil Nadu on October 2. A bench consisting of Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan directed authorities to grant permission to the right wing organisation before September 28. RSS had sought permission and moved the High Court to conduct a procession on October 2 where its members would be clad in their uniforms, have a music band lead their march, and hold a public meeting later.
However, the Tamil Nadu police denied permission to carry out their march citing a law and order situation. The police have said that the situation prevailing in the wake of the ban on the Populist Front of India (PFI) was not conducive to hold these marches. The Tamil Nadu government said that it will not give permission to any other organisation to hold marches or rallies.
Last week the state witnessed several attacks on functionaries of the BJP and right-wing organisations including the Hindu Munnani Katchi. On September 23 morning, unidentified persons hurled a Molotov cocktail at a shop located in Coimbatore, owned by Rathinapuri BJP secretary Mohan. Broken pieces of a bottle and a wick were found in front of the shop's shutter. The same day, four vehicles owned by two BJP functionaries and a Hindu Munnani worker in Pollachi were damaged. Further, in Tiruppur district, stones were pelted at a factory owned by an RSS functionary. However, on September 24, two men affiliated to the Hindutva group Bharat Sena were arrested for allegedly waylaying and assaulting a member of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the PFI.
On September 26, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder-president and Lok Sabha member Thol Thirumavalavan moved the Madras High Court to recall the recent order granting permission to the RSS. In his petition, the VCK leader hit out at the RSS, claiming Nathuram Godse, a former member of the RSS, had assassinated Gandhi. The permission granted for the RSS without considering its antecedents was against the interest of the common man and would amount to violation of the reasonable restrictions imposed under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
The RSS march, which was bound to take place on October 2, also comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its political arm, has been trying to make inroads into the southern state. However, this is not the first time that the RSS is being denied permission to hold marches or rallys in Tamil Nadu. When former All lndia Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo J Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister, the Hindutva outfit was refused permission to hold demonstrations for several years together. However, it had resumed following her death in 2016 but had come to a pause during the pandemic.