RSS were hand in glove with British, says Congress

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

Congress state unit on Tuesday commemorated the Quit India Movement and the call given by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942 that the colonial British leave India forthwith.

Siddarmaiah said that until somewhat recently, RSS and the larger Sangh Parivar had opposed the tricolour, terming the Modi government’s ‘har ghar tiranga’ campaign a “drama.” “August 9, 1942 was an important date in the freedom struggle. On that day, the British arrested Gandhiji, apart from lakhs of other Congress workers. This movement should always be remembered. British enslaved us for over 200 years. RSS and BJP people had been their slaves as well,” he said.

 KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar said that the country was going through an undeclared emergency under the BJP-led Union government. “They had extensive discussions about the Emergency. However, we are all witnessing how our central leaders are being harassed in the National Herald case. This is the evidence of an undeclared emergency,” he said. He called upon the public to think of the Independence Day events as non-political and participate in it in huge numbers.

 Leader Of the Opposition in the Council B.K. Hariprasad slammed the Sangh Parivar for its nationalistic displays, adding that their predecessors had always been hand in glove with the British. ”Today, fake patriots are teaching us patriotism. Let me remind the BJP that it was their own Shyam Prasad Mukherjee, who had written to the British to discuss how best to crush the Quit India Movement,” he said.

The party said that the commemoration was a part of the larger celebrations leading up to Independence Day, which would include 75 kilometre-long padyatras in every district and a march on August 15 in the city, which would start from Sangolli Rayanna Circle near Majestic and end at National College in Basavangudi.

The party meet took place at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office at Queen’s Road in Bengaluru. KPCC working president Ramalinga Reddy was also present