RSS cries 'vengeance' after West Bengal auditorium cancels booking for Mohan Bhagwat's event

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) alleged that a state-owned auditorium in Kolkata, where its chief Mohan Bhagwat was scheduled to attend a programme on 3 October, has cancelled the booking for the event in an act of “vengeance”. The RSS tweeted on Tuesday, quoting Manmohan Vaidya, its chief of publicity: “To take vengeance on RSS, Mamata (Banerjee) cancelled event of Sister Nivedita Mission Trust, which is working among poor and destitute women.” The development set off a slugfest, with the RSS’ official Twitter handle alleging that it was done to “appease jihadi elements”, but the TMC government said the booking was cancelled over “safety and security reasons” as the auditorium would be under renovation and repair around that time. 

"Mamata's knee-jerk responses r 2 appease #Jihadi elements who have infiltrated the state,upon which she built her political base"Dr.Vaidya

— RSS (@RSSorg) September 5, 2017

“The allegations are baseless. All scheduled programmes from 26 September to 6 October have been cancelled due to renovation work,” state food supplies minister and chairman of the renovation committee of Mahajati Sadan Jyotipriyo Mullick said. “The decision was taken a few days ago and all the organizations concerned which had booked the hall have been informed about the decision,” he added. Kolkata Police too, supported the statement and said that the hall was occupied on the given dates for the yearly renovation during puja holidays.

Reason for denial by Mahajati Sadan authority is 10 day yearly renovation during puja holidays. No renting of hall during the period.

— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) September 5, 2017

A spokesman of the Sister Nivedita’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations committee, which had booked the  Mahajati Sadan for the programme, claimed that the auditorium authorities had accepted the booking in June. “But last week, officials of the auditorium first said that we need police permission. When we informed them that we have already informed the police about the programme, they said that renovation work will be undertaken in the auditorium during the time and our programme could not take place there,” said Rantidev Sengupta, the general secretary of the celebration committee. Rivalry between the West Bengal government and RSS This is not the first such run-in between the Mamata Banerjee government and RSS and BJP. The BJP leadership  came down heavily on the state government this time and alleged that an “undeclared Emergency” prevailed in the state. “Earlier when Bhagwat was supposed to address a programme at Brigade Parade ground (in Kolkata), the state government tried to stop it. I was held only after a court order,” BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha told PTI. “Why is the state government so afraid of RSS-BJP? It is a programme related to Sister Nivedita and in that too they are trying to find politics. This is nothing but undeclared Emergency. This is nothing but vendetta politics,” he alleged. NDTV reported that BJP wanted to hold a meeting at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Eden Gardens during Amit Shah’s visit between from 11-13 September. When they approached the authorities, they were told that the hall been booked on the proposed dates. In January, the Kolkata Police had denied permission to Bhagwat’s rally, saying it was in the interest of “general security and public order”. In a setback to the state government, however, the Calcutta High Court allowed the RSS chief to hold the public meeting at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground. The state government had blocked another rally to be addressed by Bhagwat in 2014. With inputs from PTI