Palakkad municipality sees protest over BJP move to name building after Hedgewar
The decision by the Palakkad Municipality to name an upcoming skill development centre for children with intellectual disabilities after Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) ideologue KB Hedgewar led to massive protest by the activists of the Youth Congress and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) linked to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Palakkad Municipality has been governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2015. The organisations led protest marches to the venue where the foundation stone was being laid on Friday, April 11, 2025. Youth Congress protesters destroyed the foundation stone plaque and also planted a plantain tree on the pit dug for laying it. Police arrested and removed the activists when the protest escalated. The Skill Development Centre is being built using Rs 1.5 crore fund from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of a private company. It is coming up in 30 cents of land owned by Palakkad Municipality. Youth Congress President and MLA Rahul Mamkootathil said, “To our knowledge, Hedgewar is someone who tried to divide the nation, he is the founder of RSS. Is he a freedom fighter for the building to be named after him? What message does it give if a skill development centre is named after Hedgewar? When you build a building on land owned by the municipality of Palakkad and not by any political groups, why would it be named after a RSS leader?” Palakkad Municipal Chairperson, Prameela Sasidharan, said the protests are politically motivated and the building would be named after Hedgewar.
THE decision by the Palakkad Municipality to name an upcoming skill development centre for children with intellectual disabilities after Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) ideologue KB Hedgewar led to massive protest by the activists of the Youth Congress and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) linked to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Palakkad Municipality has been governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2015.
The organisations led protest marches to the venue where the foundation stone was being laid on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Youth Congress protesters destroyed the foundation stone plaque and also planted a plantain tree on the pit dug for laying it.
Police arrested and removed the activists when the protest escalated. The Skill Development Centre is being built using Rs 1.5 crore fund from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of a private company. It is coming up in 30 cents of land owned by Palakkad Municipality.
Youth Congress President and MLA Rahul Mamkootathil said, “To our knowledge, Hedgewar is someone who tried to divide the nation, he is the founder of RSS. Is he a freedom fighter for the building to be named after him? What message does it give if a skill development centre is named after Hedgewar? When you build a building on land owned by the municipality of Palakkad and not by any political groups, why would it be named after a RSS leader?”
Palakkad Municipal Chairperson, Prameela Sasidharan, said the protests are politically motivated and the building would be named after Hedgewar.
