Student body Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) denounces brutal killings; ups ante of Chalo Kerala rally with awareness drives in city
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) a pan-India nationalist student organization affiliated to the right wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is upping the tempo for its 'Chalo Kerala' rally slated for November 11.
The ABVP rallyists emerge from Marine Lines and go down to Marine Drive onward to Churchgate
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The ABVP is spreading awareness amongst Mumbaikars for the event which is based to "protest communist terror in Kerala" says Ashish Chauhan of the ABVP. Politics in Kerala is currently dominated by the Communist Party of India Marxist CPI (M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The students organization workers have distributed brochures at several stations like Bandra and Andheri recently. On Saturday, November 4 evening they marched on Marine Drive going towards Churchgate station slamming the CPI (M).
Killings in Kerala
Says Chauhan, "We have to work out where exactly the rally will be held in Kerala, the ground is to be decided. We expect people in thousands from across the country. Realistically we expect about 200 from Mumbai. Yet, awareness is growing. We are meeting in Thiruvananthapuram (Tripura).'
Chauhan says the rally, "will expose the killings by Communists. Those who adhere to a Sangh philosophy or are nationalists are being killed in Kerala. The Left spews spiel about dissent and freedom, but anybody who dares to work and speak out against their ideology is massacred. It is happening for years in Kerala, it is time to blow this open to the country. Awareness is all."
Hacked to pieces
Like Chauhan, Amey Gode, organizing secretary, ABVP Mumbai East and North East says that Kannur District in Kerala is Communist heartland and the epicenter of violence and atrocity.
Says Gode, "Over the years we have seen 7,881 murders because these victims had a dissenting ideology from the one propounded by the CPI(M). Today, we have murders where victims are being slaughtered, their limbs are chopped off and they are being hacked to pieces. We have evidence to prove this," he says emphatically.
Asked if this is simply a fight between the right wing and the leftists, Gode says "no. It is for those who oppose a certain ideology and dare to stand up and say it. It is time to bring this on Mumbai's radar."
The ABVP says that they have at least 50,000 more pamphlets they will be distributing in the two-three days in the city. A spokesperson said, "Our brochures highlight the aim of the rally, and cite links where those wishing to join the rally can register. In fact, we have two components on our website, there is one for participation and the other for support. Those coming to Kerala will have to pay R500 with the other expenses being borne by the ABVP."
Left vs Right?
Amey Mahadik head of the legal committee of ABVP says, "the Mumbai response has been good, if we go by the curiosity 'Chalo Kerala' has generated. We have witnessed outrage amongst people we have spoken to. I expect 500 persons from the city to join us, but numbers do not tell us the entire story, support does."
The legal eagle adds, "Awareness about Kerala per se is at a low, but people do know about the challenges being faced by nationalists and those who speak for the nation. This awareness has spiked because of the media blitz during the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Delhi, controversies where people acknowledged that a particular doctrine, left wing, communist mostly, supports the break up of the nation screaming about dissent and free speech."
When the ABVP was asked whether the Chalo Kerala movement simply builds on BJP president Amit Shah's march in Kerala's Kannur district in early October, to raise awareness about political awareness killings and leverage the narrative for the 2019 elections, the ABVP is emphatic in its denial. Chauhan, Gode and Mahadik concur that, "Shah had his reasons, which may have been political. For ABVP, this movement in the city and elsewhere is to show that, power cannot come from the barrel of a gun, they finished.
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