Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan compares RSS to Zionists in Israel

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan drew a comparison between “Zionists in Israel and RSS in India,” calling Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India to “Zionists in Israel,” calling them “twin brothers.” His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a commemorative stamp and coin marking the RSS’s centenary.

Prime Minister Modi, while releasing the specially designed commemorative postage stamp and coin, highlighted the Sangh’s “contributions to the nation”. Terming the RSS as the embodiment of “timeless national consciousness,” he said that in the mission of building a developed India by 2047, the organisation’s role would be crucial.

Addressing a public meeting in Kannur on Wednesday, Mr. Vijayan said, “Zionists in Israel and RSS in India are twin brothers.” Mr. Vijayan, who is also a Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member, had earlier, in a post on social media platform X, described the commemorative stamp and ₹100 coin to mark the RSS centenary as a “grave insult to our Constitution.” “It legitimises an organisation that abstained from the freedom struggle, promoting a divisive ideology that aligned with the colonial strategy. This national honour is a direct assault on the memory of our true freedom fighters and the secular, unified India they envisioned,” he wrote.

Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja also criticised the move. Speaking to reporters, he underlined that the RSS never participated in the independence movement. “What is the contribution made by RSS in social and cultural history? It is reactionary, divisive, sectarian, and polarising people and posing threats to the unity and integrity of the country. I challenge the Prime Minister to explain the role of RSS during the freedom movement. Let him explain to the people,” he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said it was an unfortunate coincidence that Gandhi Jayanti was overshadowed by the RSS centenary. “This is an organisation which was banned by then Home Minister Sardar Patel for its role in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. It is an unfortunate coincidence that its centenary celebration coincides with Gandhi Jayanti. What is perhaps worse is that the government of the day is celebrating it with fervour. Any line of demarcation between the BJP government and the RSS today stands obliterated,” he noted.

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also criticised the government, saying it was celebrating an organisation that did not unfurl the national flag for 52 years.

“The organisation began in 1925, during British rule, and historical records show that the RSS supported the British. During the Second World War, RSS leaders encouraged Indians to join the British Army and support colonial rule. These are truths that the people of India must know and reflect upon,” he said.