Siddaramaiah questions Sangh Parivar’s contribution to India’s freedom

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressing the Youth Congress members at the Yuva Kranti convention in Mysuru on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah questioned the role of Sangh Parivar in India’s freedom movement and said that the Congress has nothing to learn from it on patriotism and nation building.

Addressing a Youth Congress convention, Yuva Kranti, in the city on Saturday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the sacrifices of the Congress and its struggle in the freedom movement were immense. He contrasted this with the role of the Sangh Parivar, saying that it never took part in the freedom struggle but was now talking of patriotism.

He underlined the role of the Congress in the making of modern India and ensuring civil rights and social justice. “Congress was born to ensure civil rights and social justice in the country and laid the foundation for implementing the Constitution of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar,” the Chief Minister said. But Sangh Parivar leaders like Savarkar and Golwalkar were against Dr. Ambedkar’s Constitution, he added.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Congress workers must be aware of history and how they were distinct from the Sangh Parivar and its ideology.

He said just as Mahatma Gandhi led the freedom movement, it was Jawaharlal Nehru who laid a strong foundation for the Constitution in India. “Nehru’s contribution to unite and create a pluralistic India and instill a sense of tolerance is immense,” the Chief Minister said.

While Congress, through the Constitutional values of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, united the country, the Sangh Parivar was inspired by Manusmriti, which fragmented Indian society along caste lines, he said.

Describing Youth Congress as an “army of youngsters being built to safeguard the Constitution and its values”,  Mr. Siddaramaiah said, and he called upon the workers to develop ideological conviction as to how they are different from the Sangh Parivar, which, he said, was against India’s pluralism and the Constitution.

The Youth Congress workers were urged to develop a commitment to the cause of social justice and said that if their conviction was strong, they would remain firm in their ideological beliefs.

Citing from recent history, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the BJP had opposed the Mandal Commission report, paving a way for reservation for other backward classes, while its leader Rama Jois had approached the court opposing reservation.

Appreciating the workshop, he called for organising similar camps in all districts across the State for the Youth Congress members.

Mysuru district in-charge Minister H.C. Mahadevappa cautioned the Youth Congress members to be alert to any challenges posed to the Constitution. He expressed concern that the Constitution and democracy were in “danger” in the present times, and hence, it was imperative not to lower the guard.

Youth Congress leaders and members from different parts of the State were present.