After Aug 15 spat, Bhagwat to hoist flag in Kerala on Jan 26

After an ugly spat over the unfurling of the national flag in Kerala on August 15, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is all set to hoist the tricolour again in the left-ruled state on Republic Day.

Bhagwat will be in Kerala to attend a three-day Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) camp, to be held in a school near Palakkad town from January 26. He will hoist the flag in the school.

"The sarsanghchalakji (RSS chief) always hoists the national flag on Independence Day and Republic Day wherever he is on these days. Since on January 26 he will be in Kerala, he will hoist the flag there. It should only be seen in this light," a senior Sangh functionary said.

RSS's state coordinator KK Balram said there was no need to take permission from the local administration as the event was being organised in a Sangh-run school and not in a government institute.

Sangh members added that the school is under the administration of the outfit's Bharatheeya Vidya Nikethan.

Bhagwat had unfurled the tricolour at a government-aided school in Palakkad district on August 15 last year, flouting an order of the district administration. The state government has ordered action against the school authorities.

The RSS has a considerable presence in Kerala, where the BJP is seeking to make inroads. Last year, BJP chief Amit Shah had flagged off his Janraksha Yatra in Kerala to protest against alleged violence against its workers in the state.

The state has been witnessing incidents of political violence involving cadres of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the RSS.