The Congress party in Madhya Pradesh has demanded action against two civil servants who allegedly participated in a function organized by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) earlier this month. The incident took place less than six months before the state’s assembly elections.
A viral photo from the RSS function, which has been circulating on social media platforms, shows the district collector, Anurag Verma, and the municipal commissioner, Rajesh Shahi, attending the RSS function called “Samarpan Samaroh,” held on June 11 in Satna district.
In the photo, the officers are seen not only attending the event but also raising their hands to perform the “Dhwaj Pranaam,” the customary salute of the Hindutva organization.
Following the public outrage, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha tweeted a picture of the event and expressed his concern in Hindi, “The picture of the Collector and Municipal Corporation Commissioner participating in the RSS program and saluting its flag. With such relationships, how will public officials be able to conduct fair elections?”
Tankha also urged the state’s chief secretary, Iqbal Singh Bains, to take action against the two officials. He tagged the Election Commission of India (ECI) and demanded their removal from the election process.
According to reports from The Print, Anurag Verma stated that he had attended the event to accompany Prashant Singh, the state’s advocate general. Verma defended his presence at the function, stating, “I do not believe that there was anything wrong in attending the function because it was a public event with over 8,000 people, and by being present there, we participated in the customs.”
Meanwhile, Rajesh Shahi, as per The Print, clarified, “This does not imply that we belong to or support any particular ideology. We attended a Nirankari community event just two weeks ago. There were prayers going on, so we also stood with our hands folded to participate. We are not promoting their ideology as a result of this. We work for the government and sometimes attend cultural events with other people.”
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