People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

RSS-BJP Fascists Attack Sundarayya Vignana Kendram

M Venugopala Rao

THE RSS-BJP fascists attacked Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad with big stones and tried to burn the portrait of Comrade P Sundarayya by pouring petrol on it on March 10, 2008. Six workers of the CPI(M) who tried to thwart this attempt were injured in the attack by the communal elements. The glass panes of the entrance door of the Kendram were broken and portrait of Comrade Sundarayya was damaged partially. At around 8.15 p.m., when about 10 RSS-BJP workers gathered at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram carrying big stones and cans of petrol and started attacking with stones and tried to pour petrol on the portrait of Comrade Sundarayya, a member of the security staff, Anjayya, and other workers Purushottam, Naresh, Chennayya, Sriramulu and Venkatanarayana who were present in the office of the Kendram tried to foil the nefarious attack. All of them sustained injuries in the attack. Petrol was thrown in the compound. Unable to face resistance from the workers, the attackers fled away and took shelter in the near by Kesava Memorial building office.

After chasing the RSS-BJP workers away, the workers of the CPI(M) returned to the Kendram and started dharna demanding arrest of the attackers, raising slogans against the RSS and BJP. The floor leader of the BJP, G Kishen Reddy was in the premises of the Kendram attending a function. Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) and state secretary B V Raghavulu, state secretariat members of the Party Y Venkateswara Rao and V Krishnaiah, leader of the legislature party of the CPI(M) Nomula Narsimhaiah, MLAs M A Gafoor and S Rajayya, and MLCs Chukka Ramayya and Cherupalli Sitaramulu and workers and supporters of the CPI(M) participated in the dharna. Addressing the dharna, Raghavulu gave a call for protest demonstrations all over the state on March 11, 2008 against the BJP-RSS attack on SVK. The RSS-BJP elements while chanting high-sounding moral epithets like knowledge and character, were in the habit of commiting murders, rapes and resorting to physical attacks and destruction, Raghavulu criticised and wondered whether it was Hindu culture or communalism.

Cautioning that there would be no future to the country, if communal forces get strengthened, Raghavulu appealed to all democratic-minded people to condemn such attacks and protect democracy. Leader of the CPI legislature party Chada Venkatareddy said the attack on Sundarayya Vignana Kendram had made it clear that the BJP had no faith in democracy and demanded the government to punish the attackers severely. The RSS attacks were being made in a planned manner, he said and made it clear that such fascist actions should be exposed through people�s movements. CPI state secretariat member K Ramakrishna announced his party�s support to the protest demonstrations to be organised by the CPI(M). Narsimhaiah said the RSS elements suffering from hysteria were acting as if they had gone mad. He made it clear that the CPI(M) would face in a democratic way the danger of communalism and such attacks by communal forces and isolate them from the people. Gafoor criticised that the state government was in deep slumber when such attacks were taking place.

The RSS-BJP attack on Sundarayya Vignana Kendram was strongly condemned by leaders of several political parties. State secretary of the CPI(ML-New Democracy) Govardhan, leader of CPI (ML) Liberation D Subhash, state president of Lok Jansakti S Jagadish, MBT leader Azamdulla, general secretary of Communist Party T Sangameswara Rao, Progressive Democratic Front in the legislative council, Lok Satta party, All India Kisan Sabha, several mass organisations, including AIDWA, A P Rythu Sangham, A P Agricultural Workers� Union, poets, writers, Andhra Pradesh Progressive Writers� Association and Revolutionary Writers� Association condemned the attack. CITU state president and general secretary R Sudha Bhaskar and S Veeraiah in a statement said that it was reprehensible that the police had not arrested the attackers, though eye witnesses had informed them that after attacking the workers of the CPI(M), they had taken shelter in �Kesava Nilayam�, the state headquarters of the RSS. Chief minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was in Delhi at the time of attack, talked to the director general of police and directed him to identify and apprehend the culprits immediately.

BJP leader Kishen Reddy along with his followers sat on dharna nearby the Kendram, falsely alleging, true to their tradition, that the CPI(M) workers had tried to attack those who had participated in the programme. Later, the police shifted them to Gandhinagar police station. The local people despised the falsehood of the BJP leader. Several people expressed anguish at the diabolical attempt of the RSS-BJP to set ablaze the centre of knowledge that Sundarayya Vignana Kendram is and the consequent disaster that would have befallen in the form of loss of life and property and burning of valuable books worth crores of rupees, had the fascist elements succeeded in their nefarious act.

MARCH TO ASSEMBLY

Protesting the attack on Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, on the March 11, leaders and MLAs of the CPI(M) and CPI and leaders and workers of mass organisations took out a procession from the Kendram to the legislative assembly. After paying tributes to Comrade Sundarayya at his portrait in the Kendram, they started the padayatra, raising slogans against the RSS and its goondas who attacked the SVK and against communalism. The police tried from the beginning to obstruct the padayatra, saying that in view of the problem of law and order they would not give permission. Strongly protesting the approach of the police, B V Raghavulu questioned them as to why they were obstructing the padayatra, without arresting the culprits who attacked the SVK. The police attempted to obstruct the padayatra of the leaders at three places till they reached Himayatnagar where they were jostled by the police and stopped from proceeding towards Hyderguda. In the jostling some of the leaders and workers fell down and protesting the police highhanded behaviour, they sat on the road. Allowing only the MLAs and MLCs to proceed towards the assembly, the police arrested Raghavulu, K Narayana, state secretary of the CPI and other leaders and workers of both the parties and mass organisations. State secretariat member of the CPI(M) Y Venkateswara Rao, CITU state president R Sudha Bhaskar, secretary of Hyderabad city committee of the CPI(M) P S N Murthy, and CPI leaders K Ramakrishna, T Lakshminarayana and Balayya, and DYFI state secretary Sagar were among the arrested. They were released later.

PROTESTS IN ASSEMBLY AND ALL OVER THE STATE

The attack on SVK figured in the legislative assembly when members of the Left parties raised the issue. CPI(M) floor leader Narsimhaiah found fault with the minister for Home, K Jana Reddy, for his failure to explain what action has been taken against the culprits and regretted that there was no progress in police investigation. When such attacks were taking place at several places in the country, the department of Home had failed miserably to take precautionary measures, he criticised. CPI floor leader Venkata Reddy expressed resentment over the attitude of the government and the police for obstructing the protest rally of the Left parties. CPI(ML) MLA Gummadi Narsayya also expressed resentment over the way the Home minister had given the statement.

Protesting the RSS-BJP attack on Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, rallies, processions, demonstrations and rasta rokos were conducted all over the state and effigies of the RSS and BJP were burnt. CPI(M), Congress, Telugu Desam Party, CPI, CPI(ML), CPI(ML) New Democracy, mass organisations and thousands of people participated in the protest actions.