RSS does not wield govt’s remote control: Bhagwat
NEW DELHI: Opposition parties skipped an outreach effort by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, during which the organisation denied that it wielded the government’s “remote control”, and sought to establish that it did play a role in India’s freedom movement.
RSS is a “democratic organisation” that does not aspire for “domination”, the organisation’s head Mohan Bhagwat said on Monday on Day 1 of a three-day lecture series, called Bharat of Future: An RSS Perspective, by him, a first-of-its-kind outreach by the organisation.
The Sangh chief also said that the organisation believes in “engagement” and not alienation of any political thought. This is seen as a reiteration of an earlier statement of Bhagwat in April that the organisation does not believe in Congress-mukt (Congress-free) India, unlike the BJP, for which this is a central political objective. Bhagwat also praised the role of the (Indian National) Congress of that era in India’s freedom struggle.
The lecture was attended by actors, including Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Manisha Koirala, former bureaucrats such as Kanwal Sibal and HS Brahma, and foreign dignitaries from countries such as the United States, Sweden and Germany, among others. In all, around 1,200 people attended the two-hour session at the capital’s Vigyan Bhavan.
Union ministers, including Hardeep Puri, Arjun Meghwal, KJ Alphons and RK Singh, were present at the event. Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and former Biju Janata Dal MP BJ Panda were also in attendance.
While the intent of the speech on day one was to familiarize the audience with the RSS, Bhagwat used the platform to send out several messages. The key messages were that the Sangh: is not divisive; does not treat the Opposition as a pariah; and functions as a democratic set up that allows its affiliates room to take decision, but within the prescribed disciplinary configuration.
“The Samavya baithak (coordination meeting between the RSS and its affiliates including the BJP) is not for drafting a common policy…its exchange of ideas,” he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a former RSS swayamasevak (volunteer), and the Opposition often accuses the government of toeing the Sangh’s line on critical issues including the education policy.
Volunteers of the Sangh are present in different areas, and they all have the freedom to work, Bhagwat said. “The only concern of the Sangh is that they should not make any mistakes… There are no curbs on swayamsevak; they are free to act based on the values imparted by us,” he added.
Bhagwat also used the occasion to reiterate the Sangh’s role in the freedom struggle. He wove the RSS’S contribution to the struggle for Independence in the story that he narrated about the founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and his motivation for starting the Sangh.
The Oppositions parties have often accused the RSS of not having participated in the freedom struggle, a charge the organisation has vehemently refuted.
The Sangh chief also clarified the organisation’s view on political differences and diversity. “There is no reason for worry about diversity [in ideologies], these should be celebrated and taken along...” he said, adding that while one must stick to their ideology, they should accord respect to the others.
While he did not take any names, the Sangh chief took a dig at the opposition that has been critical of its ideology. “My aim is not to convince you. I will only tell what is…it will be adequate for us if further discussions are based on knowledge of the Sangh,” he said, implying that people have been criticizing the organisation without any knowledge of its tenets. Congress President Rahul Gandhi most recentlly, and controversially, compared RSS to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
He also said the organisation is run entirely on the donations by swayamsevasks and not on funds from outside.
The Opposition parties were conspicuous by their absence at the event. RSS had reached out to the Opposition to attend the lecture series, but leaders of parties such as the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left parties chose to stay away. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said the party had not received an invite to attend the series. But an RSS functionary said, “We sent out invitations to all major political parties, the leaders should check.”