THE CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee has strongly condemned the BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP members of the Maharashtra assembly for their acts of intimidation against Waris Pathan, MLA, in the assembly and the illegal resolution to suspend him from the assembly for the current session. Although the CPI(M) is totally opposed to the communal ideology and politics of Waris Pathan's party (AIMIM) we are of the opinion that the action of suspension against Waris Pathan in the assembly had no justification. In fact, what BJP, Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP MLAs did was an act of pseudo-patriotic jingoism. What happened in the assembly was quite instructive. While Pathan was speaking in the assembly, Ram Kadam, a BJP leader infamous for his muscle flexing against minorities and migrants, ordered Pathan to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai. When Pathan refused, he was intimidated with dirty abuses by BJP and Shiv Sena members. After that he was suspended from the assembly for the current session, with opposition Congress-NCP MLAs also fully supporting the BJP-Shiv Sena treasury benches. What happened in the assembly was the implementation of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's diktat to forcibly make people chant the Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan. Those who refuse to chant the slogan will be branded as anti-national and persecuted. In response to Bhagwat’s diktat, AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi made another inflammatory statement which set the stage for inciting communal polarisation. It was a classic example of communal forces from both sides feeding each other. Parties like AIMIM with their communal politics and propaganda are aiding the RSS-driven politics of hatred. The RSS, a semi-fascist force which never participated in the freedom struggle, and whose activist was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, is now prescribing patriotism tests to our country. Bharat Mata ki Jai is just one of the many slogans that came up during our freedom struggle. Intimidating people to chant certain slogans as proof of their patriotism is a fascist ploy. The RSS is trying to divide Indians along religious lines, spreading hatred among the people and engendering endless fratricides. The CPI(M) calls upon all democratic and secular forces to resist the terror tactics being unleashed by the RSS and its associates, with full support of the government and complicity by the main opposition, as displayed in the Maharashtra assembly on March 16.