Cong leaders object to govt school students wearing T-shirts with Savarkar photos; booked
Surendranagar, Aug 15: A group of Gujarat Congress leaders, including its state unit working president Rutvik Makwana, objected to students of a government school wearing T-shirts with Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar's photos during a Tiranga Yatra in Surendranagar district, leading to an altercation and subsequent registration of an FIR against them, police said on Thursday.
After the altercation with the principal and teachers of the primary school over the issue of T-shirts on Wednesday, five Congress leaders, including Makwana and national convener of the party-affiliated Seva Dal Lalji Desai, were booked by police on multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including jeopardising India's sovereignty, unity and integrity, and promoting enmity.
As per the FIR (first information report) registered at the Chotila police station, these five Congress leaders, who were part of the party's ongoing 'Nyay Yatra' (justice march), misbehaved with the principal and teachers of the school over the issue of T-shirts, insulted freedom fighters and deterred school staff from discharging their duties.
The incident took place at Sangani village under Chotila taluka of Surendranagar when students of government-run Sangani Primary School were taking out a Tiranga Yatra (tricolour march) on the eve of Independence Day, said Deputy Superintendent of Police VM Rabari.
The village where the incident took place is situated close to the Ahmedabad-Rajkot Highway.
Makwana and Desai were part of the Congress' Nyay Yatra, a foot march from Morbi to Gandhinagar, which crossed the Tiranga Yatra at Sangani village near the highway, said Rabari.
"Since students were wearing T-shirts having photographs of Veer Savarkar on them, Makwana, Desai and three other Congress leaders misbehaved with the school staff and asked them why his (Savarkar) photos were there on the T-shirts.
"Following the altercation, school principal Kalpesh Chauhan submitted a complaint based on which an FIR has been registered against these five persons," said the police officer.
During the heated arguments, Makwana, a former Congress MLA from Chotial in Surendranagar district, asked the students to remove the T-shirts with Savarkar's photographs, as per the police.
All five were booked under BNS sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 197(1)(c) (promoting enmity and hatred between two communities) 197(1)(d) (false or misleading information making or publishing that endangers India's sovereignty, unity, integrity, or security), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of duty) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).
As per the FIR, Congress leaders intercepted the staff as well as students participating in the Tiranga Yatra and raised objection about Savarkar's photos on the T-shirts worn by the pupils.
Desai told principal Chauhan it was not proper to ask students to wear "T-shirts with photos of RSS leader Veer Savarkar".
The Seva Dal functionary then confronted the principal and asked "Don't you feel ashamed to make students wear T-shirts of Savarkar who was involved in the conspiracy to kill Mahatma Gandhi?"
When Chauhan replied that the T-shirts were donated by a Mumbai-based trust for this occasion, Desai raised his voice and asked the school principal if he would ask students to wear "T-shirts of Nathuram Godse or some Rangabilla or Dawood if I donate them to you?"
As per the FIR, Makwana made a video of the altercation with the school staff and then asked the students to remove the T-shirts with Savarkar's photographs.
This is disgusting.
— Vijay Patel🇮🇳 (@vijaygajera) August 14, 2024
Goons of the Congress party have stopped a student rally because the students were wearing T-shirts with photos of Veer Savarkar and Subhas Chandra Bose.
I request @GujaratPolice @sanghaviharsh to take action against these goons.
pic.twitter.com/QE9SuGzJkA
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Kerala polls: ‘People rejected 10 years of misrule’, says AICC gen secy
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday said the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the Kerala Assembly polls was a clear verdict against the “arrogance”, corruption, and nepotism of the CPI(M)-led LDF government headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Addressing a press conference as counting of votes for all 140 Assembly constituencies neared completion, Venugopal said the outcome reflected public anger against what he termed “10 years of misrule” by the Left government.
He claimed that Vijayan’s victory in his home constituency, Dharmadam, was “only technical”, alleging that the CM trailed the UDF candidate in the initial rounds of counting and failed to secure a majority in his own village.
“He just escaped. He suffered a setback even in his home turf. He was the only person who did not realise the people’s mood in this election,” Venugopal said.
Alleging that the CPI(M) and the LDF had resorted to “communal and opportunistic politics”, he further claimed that the ruling front had entered into a “secret understanding” with the BJP in a bid to retain power for a third consecutive term.
He said that when a government driven by power and arrogance attempts to align with anyone to stay in office, even its own cadre turns against it.
Referring to the results, Venugopal said that while the UDF expected rebel CPI(M) leaders, including K Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur, to impact the vote share, their victories came as a surprise.
Describing the UDF’s performance as a “historic victory”, he attributed it to coordinated teamwork, grassroots mobilisation, and the dedication of party workers, adding that the alliance accepted the mandate “with humility”.
Venugopal also credited Rahul Gandhi’s campaign guarantees, calling them a “trump card” that helped voters focus on real issues and reject what he described as the LDF’s “false narratives”.
He claimed that the Congress witnessed one of its lowest levels of rebellion in this election, which contributed to the alliance’s strong performance.
The senior Congress leader further alleged that the BJP managed to win two seats with the help of the CPI(M), and asserted that forces attempting to divide society on communal lines should “learn a lesson” from Kerala’s verdict.
“This is the real Kerala story,” he said.
On the question of the next Chief Minister, Venugopal said the party leadership would decide at the earliest after due consultations.
The counting of votes began on Monday morning for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF secured a decisive majority, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF, which was seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Thank you to my brothers and sisters in Keralam for a truly decisive mandate. Congratulations to every UDF leader and worker for a hard-fought, well-run campaign. As I said before, Keralam has the talent, Keralam has the potential… pic.twitter.com/6T4IZbEmp4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
