No New Year Party for RSS Boys
Sid Harth
Sangh Parivar outfit in UP now wants to ban New Year celebrations
RB Singh
LUCKNOW, DEC 27: Activists of the Hindu Jagran Manch, an outfit
belonging to the Sangh Parivar in Uttar Pradesh, have now trained their
guns on New Year revellers. The Manch has warned all those who intend
to celebrate the New Year of dire consequences.
They had issued a similar ``fatwa'' on the eve of this year's
Valentine's Day and blackened the faces of some couples in Kanpur who
were celebrating the event in some hotels.
The ``ban'' by the Sangh Parivar members is bound to generate
controversy in the state and elsewhere. Chief Minister Rajnath Singh's
order against beauty contests has already triggered a major controversy
and evoked sharp reactions from the Opposition parties and social
organisations.
As was expected, the Sangh Parivar not only supported Singh's statement
but also demanded a similar ban on honeymoons and birthday cakes.
Certain Muslim groups too had supported the ban on beauty contests. The
Opposition parties of the state, including the Samajwadi Party, the
Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress, and some of the BJP allies, the
Loktantrik Congress Party and the Jantantrik BSP had condemned the
order and demanded its withdrawal at the earliest.
Principal Secretary Home (UP), Naresh Dayal told The Indian Express
that the people were free to celebrate the New Year in their way. Stern
action would be taken against all those coming in the way of the
revellers, he said.Dayal said all the District Magistrates and the SPs
have been instructed to prevent any untoward incident by the Manch
activists.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/front_pa.htm#head5
SANGH PLAYS NEW YEAR PARTY POOPER
FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Dec. 27:
When Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wishes the nation a happy new
year from Kottayam, his mentors in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) are bound to frown on it.
After raising a series of demands like forbidding jeans for women,
honeymoons and beauty contests, the RSS has called for a ban on new
year celebrations.
A statement issued by the RSS media cell, the Vishwa Samvad Kendra,
said: “There should be a ban on celebrations to welcome the Christian
new year.”
The RSS’ rationale: such a step would “go a long way in boosting the
country’s morale at a time when its security was under threat”.
However, the “security perception” seems to be a mere ruse. The fact
that every community and linguistic group in India has traditionally
rung in the new year in accordance with the Georgian calendar has irked
the Sangh, which has been on a Christian-bashing spree for the past two
years. Hence its emphasis on the words “the Christian New Year”.
The BJP refused to react to the demand. Spokesman Jana Krishnamurthy
said: “No comment. They (the RSS) have their view, what am I to say?”
The RSS statement also welcomed Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath
Singh’s decision to ban beauty contests.
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