Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin slammed the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for releasing a special postage stamp and a commemorative coin to mark the centenary celebrations of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In his Gandhi Jayanthi message, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said India must be saved from the pitiful state of the nation's head, releasing commemorative coin and stamp to celebrate the centenary of the organisation that shaped the ideas of the communalist who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Slamming the Centre, in a post on X, Stalin said, "India should be rescued from the pitiful state where the one who is in charge of the country's leadership (prime minister) releases special postage stamps and commemorative coin on the centenary of the #RSS movement, which gave shape to the dreams of the communal leader who killed our father of the nation."
"This is the pledge that all the people of the country should take on Gandhiji's birth anniversary. #MahatmaGandhi," Stalin added. The chief minister paid floral tributes to a portrait of Gandhi on his birth anniversary at Chennai on Thursday. Stalin noted India is a secular country and Mahatma Gandhi sowed the basic philosophy for it.
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Earlier, Stalin's ally and his Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, slammed the Centre for releasing a coin and a stamp to commemorate 100 years of RSS. In a post on X, Vijayan said, "Commemorating the RSS centenary with a postage stamp and a Rs 100 coin is 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."
Prime Minister Modi released a Rs 100 coin on Wednesday, and it features a majestic image of Bharata Mata in Varada mudra, with a lion on the obverse. The members of the RSS are seen venerating her. The national emblem is depicted on the reverse.