'Must Not Succumb To Bullying': Tushar Gandhi Responds To RSS-BJP Protest In Kerala
The protest by RSS-BJP workers took place on Wednesday over his alleged statement against rightwing groups.
Published : March 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM IST
Thiruvananthapuram: Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, responded to the protest by RSS and BJP workers who blocked him in Neyyattinkara here on Wednesday. Gandhi was in the town to unveil the statue of eminent Gandhian late Gopinathan Nair.
He stated that he did not expect such a protest from the BJP in Kerala. However, he noted that such events are to be expected in the fight against communal forces. In a democratic country, everyone has the right to protest, he added.
“Well, I did not expect this thing to happen in Kerala, but this is the direction in which our nation is being taken, which is a very worrying aspect because India has not been conceived by our founders to become a radical, intolerant nation,” he said.
“It becomes very important that we protest against such things and we do not succumb to the bullying of these organisations. I feel that the secular parties in Kerala, the LDF and UDF, have to now wake up to the menace that RSS and BJP pose to the tradition and culture of Kerala. And come together to defeat these forces, separatist forces,” he said.
The protest by RSS-BJP workers took place on Wednesday when Tushar was about to unveil the statue of Nair, who was a prominent Gandhian and the former chairman of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and Sevagram Ashram. BJP councillor Mahesh and others blocked his way when he was about to get into his vehicle from the event stage.
In the event, Tushar remarked that “RSS and BJP have poisoned the soul of the nation” and urged the need for vigilance. The comment angered the RSS, and their demand was for him to withdraw his statement. However, he made it clear that he would not back down and stood firmly by his words. Tushar was in the state capital in connection with the centenary celebrations of the historic meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri Madom on March 12, 1925.
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