Raichur: Activists condemn RSS's Hindu Rashtra agenda during convention
Raichur: Chhattisgarh-based anti-caste movement leader Tuhin Dev has strongly criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling it a "global terrorist organisation" responsible for the killings of rationalists like Gauri Lankesh, M.M. Kalburgi, and Govind Pansare. Speaking at a public gathering in Lingasugur on Thursday, he accused the RSS of pushing India towards a Hindu Rashtra by handing over the country’s resources to corporate entities.
The event, titled "Those Who Do Not Accept the Constitution Should Leave India: Anti-Hindu Rashtra People's Convention," was held at the Ayyadakki Lakkamma Vedike. Dev alleged that the Modi-led government is acting as an "RSS agent" by prioritising corporate interests over public welfare, citing states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan as examples where "double-engine governments" have been implementing policies against Dalits and marginalised communities.
Kanaka Gurupith’s Siddharamanandapuri Swami warned against attempts to replace the Indian Constitution with a "Manuwadi, Sanatan Constitution" and accused certain groups of exploiting farmers, labourers, Dalits, and minorities to enforce their ideological agenda.
Activist R. Manasayya, who presided over the event, criticised the RSS for allegedly inciting communal hatred and recruiting marginalised youth for disruptive activities instead of providing them with basic amenities. He called on Dalits, backward communities, and minorities to mobilise against what he described as the government's efforts to change the Constitution.
The convention was attended by several religious leaders and activists, including Pandit Sufi Syed Bhasha, Buddhist monk Dhammadeep Banteji, Valmiki Gurupeeth’s Varadaneshwara Swami, Karnataka Janashakti president Noor Sridhar, and others.
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Former South Korean President Yoon receives life sentence for imposing martial law
Seoul (AP): Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.
Judge Jee Kui-youn said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time.
Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict.
A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country's democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available, but most analysts expect a life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.
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South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon's critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty.
The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon's martial law decree, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the military.
Yoon, a staunch conservative, has defended his martial law decree as necessary to stop liberals, whom he described as “anti-state” forces, from obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority.
The decree lasted about six hours before being lifted after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.
Yoon was suspended from office on December 14, 2024, after being impeached by lawmakers and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been under arrest since last July while facing multiple criminal trials, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.
Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring the measure.
The Seoul Central Court has also convicted two of Yoon's Cabinet members in other cases. That includes Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to legitimize the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.
