Congress MP Jairam Ramesh condemned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on nationalism, citing Sardar Patel’s ban on the RSS and calling it a ‘secret society.’ Bhagwat defended the RSS, calling it staunchly nationalist and not an anti-Muslim organisation.
Jairam Ramesh slams RSS, cites Sardar Patel
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, on Sunday, condemned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement questioning the reason for the formation of RSS and the directions given by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. “Sardar Patel imposed the ban on the RSS. What did Sardar Patel say to Guru Golwalkar? You are a secret society. Become an institution. Bring transparency. Don’t work secretly. This is Sardar Patel’s letter,” Jairam Ramesh said.
He futher slammed RSS for not hoisting the national flag at their Nagpur headquarters for over 50 years, resuming the practice only in 2002, following a change in the Flag Code.
Additionally, Ramesh questioned the ideology of the RSS, underscoring the burning of effigies of Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi at Ramlila Maidan days after the adoption of the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949. “Which ideology created this atmosphere, due to which Mahatma Gandhi was killed?” he asked.
Further in his allegations, he mentioned that a BJP MP from West Bengal, a former judge of Calcutta High Court, who when asked, Gandhi or Godse? Said, “I will have to think”, was given a ticket and made to win, adding that “Such people are busy distributing certificates of nationalism.”
Mohan Bhagwat defends RSS as ‘staunch nationalist’
His remarks came after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that the RSS is a staunch nationalist organisation. Addressing the ‘RSS 100 Vyakhyan Mala’ program in Kolkata, Bhagwat said that RSS has always argued that India is a “Hindu Nation,” given the culture and majority’s affiliations to Hinduism. However, ‘secular’ was not originally part of the Preamble of the Constitution, but it was added along with the word ‘socialist’ by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Bhagwat also urged people to visit the organisation’s offices and ‘shakhas’ to understand its work, so that the false perception of the organisation as “anti-Muslim” can be dispelled. He also said that people have understood that the organisation advocates for the protection of Hindus, and are “staunch nationalists,” but not anti-muslim. “If there is a perception that we are anti-Muslim, then, as I said, the RSS work is transparent. You can come anytime and see for yourself, and if you see anything like that happening, then you keep your views, and if you don’t see then you change your views. There is a lot to understand (about RSS), but if you don’t want to understand, then no one can change your mind,” Bhagwat said.
About the ‘100 Vyakhyanmala’ Programme
The 100 Vyakhyanmala programme by the RSS is a series of lectures delivered by the organisation’s chief, Mohan Bhagwat, as part of the RSS’s centenary celebrations. (ANI)
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