Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. File photo | Photo Credit: PTI
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat will be on a five-day tour of West Bengal from Thursday. He will address a public meeting in Kolkata on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, at the Shaheed Minar ground in Kolkata. The announcement was made at a press conference organized by the South Bengal chapter of the RSS on Tuesday.
An RSS press statement said that the Sangh Swayamsevaks of Kolkata and Howrah will pay homage to Netaji on the occasion and remember his ideals and sacrifices. RSS’s eastern zonal chief Ajay Kumar Nandi said that Mr. Bhagwat will hold a meeting with the swayamsevaks of West Bengal during his stay.
According to RSS functionaries, Mr. Bhagwat’s visit to West Bengal was planned almost a year ago. While, Mr Bhagwat has earlier addressed public meetings in the state, this is the first time a gathering will be organized to pay homage to Netaji. The timing of the RSS chief’s visit is significant as it comes ahead of the panchayat elections in the state.
The RSS chief’s visit is also accompanied by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, who is expected to visit the state on January 18. After the defeat in the 2021 assembly elections, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had imposed a moratorium. His frequent state visits. These visits indicated that political activity has increased ahead of the panchayat elections in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently said that “all is not bad in the RSS”, a remark which was criticized by the Left parties and the Congress alleging a tacit understanding between the Trinamool and the right-wing forces.