Kerala CM condemns students being made to sing RSS song onboard Vande Bharat Express
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday condemned the reported act of the Southern Railway making school students sing an RSS song onboard the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express from Ernakulam to Bengaluru.
In a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Vijayan said that the reported act by the Southern Railway deserves to be protested.
Visuals on TV channels showed students singing the RSS song onboard the Vande Bharat Express.
He said that including the song of the RSS, which allegedly constantly spreads anti-religious hatred and communal divisive politics, in the official programme of the government is a violation of constitutional principles.
Using the country's largest public sector undertaking, the Railways, by the Sangh Parivar for spreading their alleged communal political propaganda, is unacceptable, the CM said.
By sharing on social media the singing of the RSS song on the train by the students with the caption -- 'a patriotic song' -- makes a mockery of the Southern Railway and the Indian national movement, the Marxist veteran claimed.
The Railways, which served as the cornerstone of India's secular nationalism during the freedom struggle, is now supporting the communal agenda of the RSS, which betrayed the freedom struggle, Vijayan contended.
The inauguration ceremony of Vande Bharat witnessed the sneaking-in of extreme Hindutva politics, he said.
The CM contended that narrow political mindsets aimed at destroying secularism were behind the incident.
Vijayan said that the people should recognise this and protest against it.
The Southern Railway reportedly withdrew the social media post following widespread criticism against it.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
