Mayor fixes RSS leaders’ pics in office, Cong livid

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16

Now, photographs of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders are to be fixed in the Mayor’s room in the Municipal Corporation’s building of Sector 17.

City Congress president Pardeep Chhabra said the Mayor office was a government office and not Sood’s personal property. The RSS have made no contribution to the nation. Moreover, at present, the tense situation in the country was also because of the RSS. The Congress will protest against fixing of photographs of the RSS leaders in the Mayor’s room, he said.

Mayor Arun Sood has brought the photographs of two RSS leaders — Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who was the founding sarsanghachalak of the RSS and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, who was the second sarsanghchalak of the RSS.

The Mayor has personally brought these photographs from the Delhi BJP office. Along with the two photographs, he has also brought a photograph of Mother India.

Earlier in the Mayor’s room there was a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When contacted, Mayor Arun Sood said not only RSS founders, but he would also fix photographs of President Pranab Mukherjee, Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, and BR Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution.

On photos of RSS founders, Mayor Arun Sood, who also remained the mukhya shikshak' (chief instructor) of the RSS, said both were his source of inspiration, therefore, he had got their photographs.

In 1985, Sood had joined the RSS ‘shakhas’ (daily conventions). Thereafter, he was appointed the chief instructor for the evening sessions and at present also he attended the conventions in the city.