PM’s I-Day speech: Kerala CM slams Modi for ‘glorifying’ RSS

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly criticised attempts to credit the RSS and V D Savarkar with the legacy of India’s independence struggle, describing such efforts as an outright denial of history.

Vijayan said the RSS, which was banned after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, and Savarkar, who had faced trial in the conspiracy, cannot be projected as inheritors of the freedom movement.

Also read: PM Modi's I-Day speech: Clear bid to placate RSS ahead of its centenary

“Choosing Independence Day itself to glorify those who once served the British amounts to insulting the freedom struggle,” Vijayan said.

Vijayan targets PM’s I-Day speech

He added that such disgraceful actions cannot whitewash an organisation like the RSS, whose political history was steeped in divisive and sectarian politics.

The Chief Minister also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech, stating that using the national address to “glorify” the RSS was tantamount to insulting the day itself.

Also read: PM Modi's I-Day speech takeaways: Is it an olive branch to RSS?

Vijayan pointed to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas's Independence Day greeting card, where Savarkar’s image was placed above that of Mahatma Gandhi. Taken together with other developments, he said, this showed evidence of a larger conspiracy. “What is clear is the anxiety of those who fear the true history of the freedom struggle,” the Chief Minister observed.

Recalling editorial in RSS mouthpiece

He underlined that people across caste, religion, attire, and language had joined the national movement, while the RSS stood apart. At a time when all sections of society rallied for independence, Vijayan said, the RSS had openly opposed the ideological foundations of the freedom struggle. Instead of embracing Indian nationalism rooted in unity in diversity, it had exalted a Hindutva nationalism based on majoritarian communalism.

Recalling an editorial published in the RSS mouthpiece Organizer on November 26, 1949 — the day the Constituent Assembly gave final approval to India’s Constitution — Vijayan noted that the RSS had argued Manusmriti, not the Constitution, should be upheld.

“This reflected their hostility to the democratic principles of the freedom movement,” he said.

Hindu Mahasabha’s boycott of I-Day

The Chief Minister also reminded that the Hindu Mahasabha, then led by Savarkar — who had once begged for mercy before the colonial rulers — had decided to boycott the Independence Day celebrations of August 15, 1947.

“Yet today, it is this same Savarkar whom the Sangh Parivar projects as a freedom hero, attempting to displace Mahatma Gandhi,” Vijayan said.

He alleged that the RSS was engaged in weaving false narratives to establish its role in the freedom struggle. Having stayed away from the movement in every phase, the organisation was now attempting to rewrite history by claiming participation. Vijayan recalled that those who once tried to erase the martyrs of Punnapra-Vayalar and the Wagon Tragedy from the rolls of freedom fighters are the very ones now seeking recognition within the movement.

“What respect can Independence Day hold for those who only yesterday called for August 14 to be observed as a day of Partition horror?” he asked.

Vijayan’s call for unity

According to the Chief Minister, the RSS continues to bear the burden of hatred, sectarianism, and communal violence. “Those who propagate an inhuman ideology of division and hatred have no moral right to lay claim to India’s glorious freedom struggle,” Vijayan declared. He stressed that the memory of Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, and countless martyrs cannot be equated with the RSS or its leaders.

Vijayan concluded with a call for unity, saying the country must stand together against any attempt to bury the history of humanism and solidarity in order to replace it with hatred. “Such moves must be resisted collectively by the nation,” he said.