While the nation on Monday was largely caught up in the JNU fiasco which unfolded two days ago, another controversy with regards to the RSS erupted on Twitter. Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO, Zoho Corp and Rama S Ramachandran, MD and head of communications, media and technology, Accenture India, will be chief guest and guest of honour at an event named Resurgent Bharath, scheduled to be held on 2nd February in Chennai.
Since these two are well-known corporate bosses from the IT sector, Twitterati was obviously outraged at the thought of them gracing an RSS event, because the RSS has grown to be the biggest taboo among India’s otherwise self-proclaimed leftists and liberals.
Hello @Accenture, why is your India MD at a function of a religious extremist paramilitary group that seeks to target minorities and has been responsible for the most brutal acts of violence the country has seen? pic.twitter.com/Be0m16rZM9
— Yeh Log ! (@yehlog) January 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheDeshBhakt/status/1214060185850908672?s=19
Public Advisory:@Accenture MD and @zoho CEO are chief guest at a RSS event to be held in Chennai.
It is time to avoid companies and their products supporting & strengthening Fascists. #CAA_NRCProtests pic.twitter.com/iGQiy1VMml
— 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗱 (@anivar) January 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/kanniyarii/status/1214060857774075904?s=19
The main point of contention here seems to be that corporate bosses are about to attend an event by an alleged ‘religious body’. They further mince no words in calling it a ‘terrorist organization’. However, they conveniently ignore the fact that the RSS is the world’s largest socio-political organization with over 6 million members as of 2014. This number has obviously inflated in the subsequent six years that have followed.
Despite the consistent campaign of many to somehow ensure that the two IT giants do not participate in the event, it now turns out that all such efforts have gone in vain, as Sridhar Vembu took to Twitter to respond to the childish antics of a few deranged liberals. The Zoho CEO said, “I don’t decide my views based on Twitter attacks. If you dislike which events I attend, please do what your conscience dictates and I will do what mine dictates. We earn our daily bread due to our work and we will continue to do quality work. I won’t be responding to attacks.”
I don't decide my views based on Twitter attacks. If you dislike which events I attend, please do what your conscience dictates and I will do what mine dictates. We earn our daily bread due to our work and we will continue to do quality work. I won't be responding to attacks.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) January 6, 2020
In desperation, some users even dragged Accenture CEO Julie Sweet into this unilateral mud-slinging, who has not responded.
This is not the first time when the RSS has invited industrialists and corporate giants to its events. RSS has recently opened itself up to diverse views and as a result it also invited Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies to its Vijay Dashami celebrations this year. Other high-profile names from India Inc such as Ratan Tata and Azim Premji have also attended RSS events, and visited the organisation’s premises. Former President Pranab Mukherjee also decided to address a mega RSS event despite massive outrage against him.
Similarly, the Zoho CEO standing up to the veiled threats of some online warriors is commendable, and also a rarity. Many would rather buckle under pressure fearing the impact of such decisions on their businesses. Vembu’s straight and simple reply stating that he will do what he deems fit is a tight slap on the faces of those who thought they could dictate two techies of such stature as to what decisions they should make.