Mirzapur; 16 Nov 2019 (UMM): Prof Kiran Damle of Banaras Hindu University south campus in Mirzapur district has been booked by Police on complaint by RSS for removing the RSS flag from a ‘Shakha’ inside the university campus, and later forced to quit.
She has also been charged by the Uttar Pradesh police of "insulting religious beliefs", after the local RSS unit filed a complaint.
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), currently ruling the state, is a political wing of the RSS.
According to NDTV, Kiran Damle, the Deputy Chief Proctor at the Mirzapur campus of the renowned Varanasi-based university, reportedly removed the flag while students affiliated to the RSS were holding a shakha (gathering) on Tuesday morning. The students later held protests on the campus, forcing Ms Damle to quit her post.
Damle said that she was following rules of the institution. "I asked the shakha members to remove the flag themselves, but they paid no attention. So I picked up the flag and gave it to my peon. When they came after me, I told them that they couldn't hoist the flag at such a sensitive time. When they insisted, I said I would not allow it inside the stadium," she said.
Sources in the university administration told NDTV that they are in talks with senior RSS leaders in Mirzapur to resolve the issue. However, even politicians from the ruling party seem to have taken a stand against Ms Damle.
"Kiran Damle has resigned. I have forwarded this to the Vice Chancellor. We are awaiting a decision. She has accepted her mistake. She said she did it innocently. She said she did not know the RSS flag is so respected. She is ready to give this in written. We did not want things to escalate, but filing an FIR is not in my hands," said professor Ramadevi Nimannapalli , in charge of BHU's South Campus in Mirzapur.
The opposition Congress lashed out at the RSS. "RSS shakhas should not be held on the campus of educational institutions. In any case, why are outsiders -- including RSS officebearers -- interfering in the affairs of the university," questioned former Congress MLA Lalitesh Pati Tripathi.
