Controversial ex-major elected CHMES secretary

Jan 6: The controversial former Commandant of the Bhonsala Military School, Major P B Kulkarni (retd), was elected as the general secretary ...

Jan 6: The controversial former Commandant of the Bhonsala Military School, Major P B Kulkarni (retd), was elected as the general secretary of the Central Hindu Military Education Society (CHMES), on Monday. Viren Shah was re-elected chairman of the society.

On the eve of elections, director of the Bhonsala Adventure Foundation, Anand Munje, had accused Kulkarni of financial irregularities during the latter’s tenure as the Commandant and Principal of the Bhonsala Military School and secretary of the society, about ten years ago. Munje, supported by three other members, had demanded that the elections be postponed by two months and the office-bearers be elected through secret ballot.

Munje had also accused Kulkarni and others of misleading members by stating that a secret ballot was not necessary as the office bearers and members of the governing council had already been decided by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which had sent a list to the society.

Consequently, the elections were held by secret ballot with Kulkarni being elected unanimously as the general secretary of the society.

Kulkarni had said on Saturday that he had not committed any fraud but had overdrawn some amount as remuneration and pension for which he had apologised. He had also clarified that the society was not an authorised institution run by the Sangh Parivar though run by RSS members. Kulkarni had been active in the society and the military school from 1972 to 1989 when he was asked to resign.

The society runs the Bhonsala Military Schools at Nashik and Nagpur, the Bhonsala Military College, the Vidhya Prabodhini, the Bhonsala Adventure Foundation and the Bhonsala Computer and Management Centre at Nashik. The Bhonsala military campus was the venue of RSS Diwali meeting in October last. Top RSS functionaries like Rajubhaiyya and BJP leaders like Atal Behari Vajpayee have visited the institute in the past.