The foundation-laying ceremony for a Skill Development Centre for the Differently Abled, organised by the BJP-ruled Palakkad Municipality, was marred by violence on April 11, as goons of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Youth Congress attempted to disrupt the event.
The proposed centre, named after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, is designed to cater to both children and adults with disabilities. The centre is expected to benefit over 200 individuals in the Palakkad area, providing vital support and training to enhance their livelihoods.
However, the initiative faced stiff resistance from the DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M), and the Youth Congress. Protesters descended on the venue, heckling participants and reportedly jumping into the pit dug for the foundation stone in an attempt to defile the ceremonial proceedings. The plaque installed to mark the foundation stone laying was vandalized by them.
Municipality Chairperson and senior BJP leader Prameela Sasidharan strongly condemned the disruption. “They are protesting a project for the differently abled simply because it bears the name of Dr Hedgewar,” she said, adding, “If BJP governs the municipality, we will certainly complete and launch this centre.”
Sasidharan also pointed out the double standards of the opposition: “There are countless public structures named after leaders from the Nehru family—Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi—but the moment a nationalist leader is honoured, it becomes intolerable for them.”
E. Krishnadas, vice-chairman of the municipality and BJP leader, ridiculed the DYFI and Youth Congress while talking to the media. He said that the centre was meant for over 200 disabled persons in the area. Dr Hedgewar is the inspiration for crores of people in the country, for working towards the motherland’s glory. The centre will become a reality, come what may, he declared from the podium.
Despite the presence of police, the protest quickly escalated into vandalism, with DYFI and Youth Congress workers openly threatening to prevent the project from moving forward unless the name was changed. Their justification? That the naming constituted “saffronisation” of public institutions.
BJP leaders, however, clarified that the centre is being constructed on municipal land, not on private land belonging to any Congress leader. They also accused local police of remaining passive while political goons created chaos at a function aimed at supporting one of the most vulnerable communities in society.
The same day, the BJP carried out a protest march to the District Congress Committee office. Police put up barricades to stop the BJP workers. District President Prashanth Sivan said that the BJP would go ahead with the project in the name of the RSS founder.
He reminded that both the CPM and Congress kept mum when the Indian Union Muslim League-ruled Malappuram Municipality building was named after Variyankunnan Kunjahmed Haji, the notorious kingpin of the infamous Mapilla Riot of 1921, which resulted in the murder of thousands of Hindus, the rape of hundreds of Hindu women, the demolition of hundreds of temples, and the forced conversion of thousands of Hindus to Islam.
But, Dr Hedgewar was a great patriot. Prashanth also spoke about the government college named after the late Muslim League leader Fafakki Thangal in Malappuram district.
This incident not only reflects the intolerant and aggressive posture of the DYFI and Congress youth wings but also exposes a worrying trend of politicising welfare initiatives. Their opposition was not based on the merit of the project but merely on ideological bias against a nationalist figure—Dr Hedgewar—whose contributions to India’s cultural and social awakening remain undeniable.
The vandalism and violent conduct at the event raise serious questions about the democratic values of these organisations. Instead of supporting a noble cause, they chose disruption and division. The attempt to block development for the differently abled, simply due to political disagreement over a name, is not just petty—it is disgraceful.
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