Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Rohit Pawar has supported Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge’s letter seeking a ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) programs in government schools and colleges, saying politics and education should not mix.
Speaking to the press, Pawar said that the growing influence of the RSS in Maharashtra’s universities has led to a steady decline in the quality of education. “All the universities in Maharashtra, all the government universities, all the deans or heads there are of RSS ideology. And from the day those people of RSS ideology have been sitting there, the quality of education has deteriorated,” he said.
Citing a government report, Pawar added, “There is a report by the central government. All the universities in Maharashtra have gone way back in terms of quality of education.”
He further echoed Congress leader Kharge’s view that the presence of RSS in educational spaces weakens progressive thought. “Wherever RSS goes, progressive ideology ends. Regressive ideology comes. And when regressive ideology comes, then education, women’s education, and equality are not given importance,” Pawar said.
The NCP (SP) leader stressed that no political or religious organization should use educational institutions for ideological propagation. “If RSS, after coming to that university or college, does such work due to which education deteriorates, then strict action should be taken. Whether it is RSS or any other political organisation, the use of educational institutions for politics is wrong,” he said.
When asked about comparing RSS to the Taliban, Pawar said, “Taliban means strict thinking. When strict thinking comes, the thinking of great leaders like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and Mahatma Phule ends there. Such thinking should have no place in society.”
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