RSS to hold flag march in Tamil Nadu on April 16

Sangh fought a long legal battle in the Madras High Court and then at the Supreme Court to secure permission for the rally

After a legal fight lasting eight months, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will finally hold ‘route marches’ in 45 locations across Tamil Nadu on April 16, amid a massive push by its political offshoot BJP to make inroads into the Dravidian land.

The RSS, which had always found it tough to get the nod for route marches in the state, fought a long legal battle in the Madras High Court and then at the Supreme Court to secure permission for the rally, which it conducts in almost all states in the country.

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“The route march will be held in 45 locations in the state on Sunday, April 16. The march will cover almost all districts in Tamil Nadu,” a senior RSS functionary told DH.

The Sangh had moved the Madras High Court in September after the Tamil Nadu government refused permission to hold the route march in 50 locations on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanthi. Despite the high court giving the go ahead for the route march, the government denied permission citing the ban on Popular Front of India following which the RSS moved a contempt petition.

The High Court had in November gave the go-ahead but with a slew of conditions against which the Sangh moved a division bench. The bench allowed the RSS to hold the march, but the Tamil Nadu government challenged the order before the Supreme Court which had on April 11 allowed the march.

The RSS has always found it tough to hold marches in Tamil Nadu with the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa refusing permission for years together. The marches resumed after her death in 2016 and were not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The march assumes significance in the wake of a massive political push by the BJP to make inroads into Tamil Nadu, where it still lacks a solid base.

“The Sangh conducts such marches across the country every year and we don’t face problems in the form of permission anywhere except Tamil Nadu. We are being forced to approach courts to get permission and we have succeeded this time,” a senior RSS functionary said.

The state government had objected to the marches saying they would disturb communal harmony in the state.