RSS gathering in corpn school kicks up row

Coimbatore: A gathering of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers at Corporation Primary School ground on Devenga High School Road on Sunday kicked up a row with pro-Tamil outfits opposing the event.
While RSS maintained that the workers were not conducting a shakha and were cleaning the campus, videos and photos on social media showed RSS men standing in two rows with their right arm placed on the chest and a song playing in the background.
M Raja, Coimbatore city president of RSS, said the workers were in the school as part of a Swachh Bharat drive conducted at 23 places in the city. “After the cleaning programme, we stood at attention and sang an anthem, which was videographed and circulated,” he said. “It was a one-day exercise and not a shakha, as alleged.”
A group of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) workers staged a protest in front of the school, demanding action against the RSS men.
TPDK president K Ramakrishnan said a shakha, not a cleaning programme, was held at the corporation school. “Their entry into the school is illegal,” he said.
The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation will conduct a probe into the incident, commissioner M Prathap said. “The city educational officer will conduct an inquiry and submit a report, based on which action will be taken.”
Corporation authorities were not aware of any cleaning programme at the school, a senior official added.