RSS to hold marches at 45 places across TN on April 16

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 13 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will conduct marches across the state of Tamil Nadu at 45 places on April 16, said a party statement on Thursday.

The statement issued by the RSS stated, "The DGP of Tamil Nadu granted permission to RSS to conduct route march in 45 places all over Tamil Nadu and requested the district cadres to approach the concerned District Commissioners of Police and Superintendent of Police and work out the route and other formalities for conducting march on 16th April 2023."

"RSS has been conducting route marches ever since its formation in 1925 every year during Vijayadasami throughout the country. It is an annual event conducted in every part of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari", R Vanniyarajan, RSS President, Tamilnadu said in the statement.

The statement added, "We expect the General public and other brethren to join us for the public meeting and view the march in large numbers. We thank Supreme Court, High Court and Police for granting permission to conduct the march."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected the Stalin-led-Tamil Nadu's appeal against the Madras high court order allowing RSS route marches in the state.

A bench of justices V Ramasubraman and Pankaj Mithal upheld the Madras High Court order which allowed the RSS route march in the state.

Dismissing the appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government against the Madras HC order, the top court said, "Therefore, it is not possible for us to find fault with the order passed by the Judge either in the main writ petitions or in the review applications."

"Hence all the special leave petitions are liable to be dismissed," the top court said.

The top court had observed that the main objection raised by the State before the High Court was that after the imposition of a banning order on another orgzation, law and order problems cropped up in certain places and that the same led to several cases being registered.

The details of those cases are actually furnished in the memorandum of grounds of special leave petition.

"But the Chart provided by the State Government shows that the members of the respondent orgzation were the victims in many of those cases and that they were not the perpetrators," the top court said.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appeared for the petitioners of Tamil Nadu, in all the special leave petitions and Senior Advocates Mahesh Jethmal and Menaka Guruswamy appeared for the respondent RSS.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Government told the Supreme Court that they are not totally against the RSS route march but can't permit it in sensitive locations.

The court was hearing the Tamil Nadu government's appeal against the Madras High Court order permitting RSS for its route march in the state.

On February 10, Madras High Court directed Tamil Nadu police to grant permission to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to take route marches in various districts across the State on public roads.