Parrikar being pressured to continue as CM, alleges former Goa unit RSS chief Velingkar
Panaji, Oct 25 : Former Goa unit RSS chief Subhash Velingkar has alleged that the BJP high command is pressuring Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to continue in the post despite his ill health, to retain power in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, rubbished his charge, saying Parrikar was not being forced to continue as the chief minister and that his health condition was improving.
Velingkar demanded that the state government give an update on the chief minister's health.
"They (government) are fooling people. Parrikar needs proper rest. Unfortunately, theBJP high command in Delhi wants to retain power in Goa, that is why they are not allowing him to rest. They are power hungry," he alleged.
He was talking to reporters Wednesday evening after addressing a meeting of his supporters in Mandrem Assembly constituency, where a bypoll is due after Dayanand Sopte, who had won from there last year, resigned and joined the BJP.
Velingkar was ousted from the post of the Goa Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief in 2016 after his critical comments against Parrikar.
Later, he formed a political outfit called the Goa Suraksha Manch, which fought against the BJP in the state Assembly polls held last year.
Velingkar said the state government should have appointed another person as the chief minister till Parrikar recovered from illness.
"I feel this government will be dissolved and the Goa Assembly elections would be held along with the Lok Sabha polls," he said.
He said the BJP was "no more a party of ideology".
"The elected representatives don't have anything to do with the party's ideology. They have imported leaders from other parties. The loyal cadre is disturbed. In the next election, the BJP will be completely wiped out from the state," he claimed.
When contacted, BJP Goa unit chief Vinay Tendulkar said there is no issue of the party high command forcing Parrikar to continue in the chair.
"His health condition is improving now and he will resume office in November," he said.
Dismissing Velingkar's claims that BJP leaders were not following the party's ideology, Tendulkar said, "Whosoever is in the party is because he/she believes in our ideology."
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RSS needs to increase activism on social media as work expands: Bhagwat
Nagpur (PTI): Social media is widely used, and there is a need for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to increase “activism” on such platforms for a good cause, said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday.
He was speaking at the centenary event of the Marathi newspaper Tarun Bharat in Nagpur.
The RSS chief said that while social media is used extensively by people, it should be utilised for a good cause.
“Memes and reels are already in circulation. Some content is being disseminated through the RSS’ communication department, and our volunteers are also using social media. This will gain acceptance. I won’t call it an expectation, but we will have to increase our activism there,” he said.
Bringing people together and transforming society were both necessary and mutually reinforcing, he said.
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When a committed volunteer is developed, they take up constructive work, which spreads through society and contributes to desired change, said the RSS chief.
Bhagwat said the RSS’s work was expanding and required decentralisation.
As public expectations had grown, there was increasing demand for volunteers across sectors, making smaller units necessary for better efficiency, according to the RSS chief.
He said that the organisation’s expanding work also required periodic interaction with the government and administration, for which a separate coordination mechanism was being created.
A “pradesh-level” unit was being set up to handle such coordination and address hurdles, he added.
