RSS annual meet to go on in B'luru despite ban on public events due to virus

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said on Saturday it has cancelled the annual meeting of its highest decision-making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, following the instructions issued by the government amid the coronavirus pandemic.

RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said in a statement the meeting scheduled to be held from March 15 to March 17 in Bengaluru will not be held.

ABPS is the annual meeting where apart from the brass of RSS, the heads of all its affiliated organisations, including the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gather for a three-day meeting.

A functionary aware of the details said the meeting has been suspended only twice before when the RSS was banned after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and during Emergency.

RSS spokesperson Arun Kumar had said while speaking to reporters that about 1500 delegates from 11 zones, state-level office bearers of 44 sects, national representatives of 35 organisations, special invitees and RSS national executive members were expected to attend the meeting.

India reported its second coronavirus-linked death on Friday as the virus continued to spread in the country forcing more states to order restrictions on businesses, educational institutions and public gatherings.

The 68-year-old woman in Delhi was believed to have been infected by coronavirus after being in close contact with her son, who had travelled to Switzerland and Italy last month. The two were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on March 7.

“She was a known case of diabetes and hypertension. Her condition worsened on March 9, 2020, with the development of pneumonia and she was shifted to the intensive care unit. Due to comorbid conditions, she died on March 13 at RML Hospital,” the Union health ministry said in a statement.

Before her, a 76-year-old man from Kalburgi in Karnataka was confirmed as the first Covid-19 fatality of the country.

Eighty-three people have been infected in the country so far.