RSS to invite Rahul for next month’s event
new delhi — The RSS on Monday was critical of Congress President Rahul Gandhi for drawing comparisons of it with the Daesh and the Muslim Brotherhood and plans to invite him for a three-day lecture series here next month to enlighten people about the organisation.
The sangh parivar fountainhead, which is holding a lecture series on “Future of Bharat: An RSS Perspective” between September 17 and 19, said it will invite all the political parties, including the Congress, to enlighten them about its vision and also to clarify the misconceptions about it.
Addressing a press conference, Arun Kumar, the Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address and interact with a select audience comprising prominent citizens during the three-day event.
Responding to a volley of questions regarding Rahul Gandhi’s continuous attacks on RSS, including the recent comparison with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Daesh, Kumar said that Congress president’s remarks were due to his lack of knowledge. “If Rahul Gandhi is clear about how the Daesh, the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism is haunting the entire world, he would have never drawn such comparisons,” Kumar said.
Questioning Rahul Gandhi’s understanding of India, he said that one cannot understand the RSS until he understands the country.
“Sometimes we feel and even he accepts that he is trying to understand the country. One who has not understood India can never understand the RSS. To understand the RSS one needs to first understand India at least,” he said.
The RSS functionary said that unless Rahul Gandhi understands “Sarva Dharma Sambhava (all Dharmas are equal to or harmonious with each other), We the people and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)”, he will not be able to understand the RSS.
“Because of lack of knowledge, he is drawing such comparisons (with Daesh and Muslim Brotherhood),” Kumar told reporters.
Asked about the invitees to the event, he said that top people from the fields of social, cultural organisations, media, columnists and even legal fraternity besides foreign ambassadors and high commissioners, will be invited to the event to get to know and understand the RSS perspective on various issues of national importance.
Asked whether the political parties opposed to the idea of the RSS would be invited to the event, Kumar said: “We will contact all the political parties. All means all.”
To a specific question about inviting Rahul Gandhi, he said, “It is our prerogative whom to invite. We will try to touch all the strata of the society.” An RSS functionary, however, said that as president of the Congress party, Gandhi will also be an invitee.
Responding to Congress charges that the BJP and the RSS believed in divisive politics, Kumar said that political parties speak a lot for vote bank politics but it is the people of the country who decide. “I don’t need to comment on it. People will decide,” he said.
Speaking at an event organised by Indian Journalists’ Association in London, Rahul Gandhi had once again compared the RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood. Earlier he had compared the RSS with the Daesh. —
If Rahul Gandhi is clear about how the Daesh, the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism is haunting the entire world, he would have never drawn such comparisons
Arun Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS