16 years on, RSS takes out route march in Chennai

CHENNAI: Hundreds of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists on Sunday took out a route march in Chennai to commemorate the anniversary of four national figures, namely, Saint Ramanuja, Guru Gobind Singh, B R Ambedkar and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Organised by RSS Chennai chapter, the march saw about 2,000 activists from various walks of life gathering at Rajarathinam stadium in Egmore, from where the march was flagged off.

While the march was earlier scheduled to take place on Kamarajar Salai (near Marina Beach), the imposition of Section 144 under CrPC prohibiting movement in large crowds there resulted in organisers shifting the venue to Egmore.

The activists, dressed in khaki pants, white shirts and black caps, marched from the stadium for a distance of about 1.5 km up to the end of Rukmini Lakshmipathy Salai before returning to the starting point.

BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan was present during the march.

Police were deployed in adequate numbers for security reasons with entry to Rukmini Lakshmipathy Salai remaining blocked for outside traffic.

Portraits of the four figures were prominently displayed, with their contribution towards building a prosperous and egalitarian society highlighted. Speaking to Express, an RSS activist said, “We are holding the route march in Chennai after 16 long years. Previous attempts to organise the march were not sanctioned permission by local authorities. Also, another march took place in Salem simultaneously.”

Around 200 policemen, including a Deputy Commissioner of Police, one Assistant Commissioner of Police, five inspectors were deployed at Egmore to ensure no untoward situation was reported.