Congress rips into RSS chief for his military prowess

The Congress on Monday expressed horror and shock at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's declaration that his organisation has the capability to raise an army within three days, if the Constitution permits.

Is he hinting at the private military that the RSS has been maintaining all these years, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked, warning that nations where private militias were formed have suffered destruction.

Private militias cannot be allowed in a mature democracy where the Army and para-military forces have the exclusive mandate to protect the nation, Sharma told a press conference here, asserting that the RSS chief's statement is very disturbing and also an insult to the Indian Army.

Another party spokesman, Manish Tewari, went a step further and demanded: "Is the RSS chief asking the Government to change the law and the Constitution?"

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is touring Karnataka, set the tone for the party’s response with a tweet in the morning:

"The RSS chief's speech is an insult to every Indian, because it disrespects those who have died for our nation. It is an insult to our flag

because it insults every soldier who ever saluted it. Shame on you Mr Bhagwat, for disrespecting our martyrs and our Army." Anand Sharma said: "Countries with private militias have been destroyed. We have seen this happening in our neigbourhood – in Afghanistan. Countries like Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Congo came to grief. We ask the Prime Minister to tell the nation how he views this. Does he plan to hand over the Indian Army to the RSS? Bhagwat should also apologise to the Army for demoralising the soldiers when they are grappling with a terror attack in Jammu right now."

Noting that the Indian Army has a glorious history of valour, commitment and sacrifices, Sharma said: "They have kept India safe and the entire nation proudly stands by them. The RSS chief has questioned their capability by saying what the Army can do in six months what can be done by the RSS in three days."

He dismissed the clarification issued by the RSS office that Bhagwat only said the Army can raise a force with trained RSS workers in three days only. Questioning if it were giving military training to its cadres, Sharma said: "The RSS, after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, gave an undertaking to the Government of India that it was a cultural organisation and would not participate in political activities. We all know that RSS controls the BJP, its political wing. But we cannot give any space to a private outfit in the sphere of defence."

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, a full-timer from the RSS lent to the party, asserted that Bhagwat might have made the comments to highlight the RSS’ state of readiness to join the Army if the situation warrants.

Kerala Chief Minister and CPI-M leader Pinarai Vijayan also slammed Bhagwat, alleging that the RSS wanted to "turn India into Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany".