RSS leader defies Kerala government

For the second time in a year, senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Mohan Bhagwat hoisted the national flag in a school in Kerala to mark Republic Day, defying a state government directive.

Bhagwat hoisted the flag at the Vyasa Vidyapeetom School at Kallekad in Palakkad district yesterday morning, amidst tight security.

The act was in direct defiance of an order that the state public education director had issued only a few days ago, setting down the protocol for flag hoisting in schools on Republic Day.

However, RSS leaders argued that the school where Bhagwat hoisted the flag was affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, over which the state government has no control.

Last year, Bhagwat had hoisted the national flag on Independence Day at a secondary school in Palakkad.