RSS flays Nitish Kumar's remark on secular Prime Minister candidate - Economic Times
"Nitish Kumar has said NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 elections should be secular. He has made the statement so that his vote bank remains intact," Bhagwat told a meeting of RSS volunteers here.
According to those present in the meeting which was out of bounds for the media, Bhagwat also described Hinduism as an "all-inclusive" religion and wondered why a "Hinduwadi" should not become the Prime Minister.
"Hinduism is the religion of humanism. You are right and we are also right, Hinduism follows this broad philosophy," he was quoted as having said.
To keep alive the Hindu ideology, the Hindu 'samaaj' should come together and the country should have a prime minister who believes in that ideology or propounds that view, he is reported to have said.
In Delhi, RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said that Hindutva is the "true synonym" for secularism and is liberal as it embraces all other religions.
"To portray it (Hindutva) as anti-secular is not correct and narrow minded. Hindutva is the true synonym for secularism... We have always felt that Hindutva is the ideological anchor of RSS and it is liberal, all embracing and a secular idea," he told reporters.
He also said that what its chief Mohan Bhagwat said while addressing its swayamsevaks should not be viewed in the context of the present political situation in the country.
"It is uncalled for to link his view to day-to-day happenings on the political front and statements of certain leaders," Madhav said.
RSS snubs Nitish Kumar over 'secular PM' remark - Hindustan Times
The RSS chief’s assertion that the next PM should be a Hindutva proponent comes at a time when the NDA is battling dissension over whom to back for president. Key alliance partner Shiv Sena has already jumped the gun by coming out in support of UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee.
While the JD(U)'s stand against Modi is a challenge to the RSS adherence to Hindutva - making Kumar's statements unpalatable to the hardline saffron constituency - the Bihar CM sees overt criticism of Modi as part of a careful projection of himself as a pro-minority leader and the only "secular" face in the NDA. The question is how the alliance will handle such political complexities.
"What is the harm in having a pro-Hindutva Prime Minister? It is none of his (Kumar's) business to decide who is secular or not," Bhagwat told RSS volunteers in Latur, Maharashtra.
RSS leader Ram Madhav explained: "Hindutva is the true synonym for secularism. It is a secular, liberal and all-embracing idea." The RSS chief's remark, however, came as a shot in the arm for Modi.
At a time when the BJP has many prime ministerial hopefuls, Bhagwat's remark strengthens Modi's standing by making Hindutva its crucial qualification for a PM candidate. However, Sangh insiders hinted that BJP chief, Nitin Gadkari is high on the RSS's list of PM candidates, with sections of the organisation wary of Modi's dictatorial ways.
JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari rushed to Kumar's defence, saying those in the BJP who want the party to return to power should realise that projecting a "fanatic face" wouldn't work. He claimed that the NDA lost the 2004 elections because of the Gujarat riots two years earlier.
While the BJP did not hold an official press briefing, its Gujarat in-charge Balbir Punj said, "None in this country has the right to issue fatwas as to who is secular or not."
RSS justifies chief’s statement on prime ministerial candidate (Lead) - Thaindian.com
“We always held that Hindutva, the ideological anchor of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a liberal, all-embracing and secular idea,” Ram Madhav told reporters here.
“To portray it as anti-secular or narrow-minded is not correct. Hindutva in reality is a true synonym for secularism,” the RSS spokesman maintained.
“This is our ideological position which we have been articulating from time immemorial and the chief of RSS (Mohan Bhagwat) has only reiterated that position,” Madhav said.
“It is totally, utterly uncalled for to link the views expressed before the swayamsevaks to day-to-day political happenings in the country, to individuals or leaders. This is uncalled for and not appropriate,” he said.
Earlier in the day, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had told reporters: “To keep alive the Hindutva ideology, the Hindu ’samaaj’ (society) should come together. And the country should have a prime minister who believes in that ideology or propounds that view.”
Bhagwat’s comments come a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition National Democratic Alliance should announce a secular prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Bhagwat had hit out at Kumar too, saying he was scared to call himself a Hindu and questioned his right to decide what sort of person would make a good prime minister.
RSS’s unsecular disservice to NaMo - Hindustan Times
I admire Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi — forget the economic parameters of the state, you just need to go out at 1 am in the morning in Baroda to see and experience the huge number of women and men walking on the roads, free from any threat, real or imagined. That state, when you know that the chances of your being assaulted at that time are close to zero, is to my mind the epitome of security, the first dharma of governance. This sense of security has attracted carmakers like Tata and Ford to Gujarat, a feat that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is only beginning to aspire for.
So, as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), when Kumar said that the “leader of the coalition should have secular credentials and a liberal frame of mind”, Modi followers seem to have taken it as an attack on Modi’s perceived non-secular credentials, following his abysmal and shameful mis-governance during the riots at Godhra in February 2002. I see nothing wrong with what Kumar has said. Of course, not only the leader of any political alliance that aspires to govern India, but any citizen of India must be secular. What else can s/he be — a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh and so on?
The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) feels otherwise. “To keep alive the Hindutva ideology, the Hindu ‘samaaj’ (society) should come together,” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told reporters today. “And the country should have a prime minister who believes in that ideology or propounds that view.” Nothing could be more dangerous or more divisive for India than such an ideology. Were Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rajiv Gandhi ‘Hindu’ prime ministers? Is Manmohan Singh a ‘Sikh’ prime minister? Thank whichever god you believe in that that is not the case — irrespective of personal faith, India is yet to see a single prime minister who is as rabid about his religion as many in Islamic nations are about theirs.
As we all know, in the path shown by Vinayak Damodar (Veer) Savarkar, for RSS, you can’t be an Indian without being a Hindu. Lace that thought with a political agenda and the foregone conclusion is the creation of a Hindu nation. “For the RSS, Indian identity is the same as Hindu identity, and all members of religious minorities — mostly Muslims and Christians — should pay allegiance to the dominant religious community, at least in the public space,” writes Ingrid Therwath, head of the International Relations department at the Delhi-based Centre de Sciences Humaines, in Cyber-Hindutva: Hindu nationalism, the diaspora and the Web, a recent report I wrote about last week.
Do Indian Hindus want India to be a Hindu state? The rising tide of angry cyber-Hindus aside, most Hindus I know are very happy and secure being secular. While the word signifies a religion-indifferent nation, angry Hindus believe secularism has meant that followers of the world’s oldest religion have lost out, that the word ‘secular’ is really pseudo-secularism, that Hindus are being victimised in “their own home”. This false notion needs to end, but like all who revel in the glory of persecution complex, this is not going to happen soon.
At another level, if it is political change that is being sought — as Bhagwat’s statement suggests — they will have to walk the arduous road towards that regressive state. It is no longer a fringe that can define or change this. Secularism is now a Constitutional provision, through the 42nd amendment in 1976. To change this, the majority in Lok Sabha must belong to those who believe in the Hindu Rashtra theory. With the grace of all gods — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and many more — that is not going to happen soon.
But in the interim, Bhagwat has done a terrible disservice to Modi by strengthening the impression that Modi stands for a Hindu identity, that if he becomes India’s prime minister he will push for the Hindutva notion of our nation. Modi will have to come clean on this himself. If he, as the prime ministerial candidate, walks towards a Hindu Rashtra, the alienation of BJP is destined. And unfortunately, the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of Gujarat will not be available to the rest of us.
Congress criticises RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat - Times of India
ALLAHABAD: At a meeting of Congressmen held on Wednesday, speakers criticised the statement of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat wherein he had stated that prime minister of the country should be pan-Hindu.
Congress leader Hardev Singh said the partition of the country took place in the wake of policies of the RSS and now it is once again trying to divide a secular country like India on religious lines by propogating the ideal of Hinduism. This would make a dent on the image of the country and sow seeds of division, he added.
He warned that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and RSS would contest parliamentary elections under the leadership of a communal person like Narendra Modi they would meet the same fate as that of Hitler and his party. tnn
RSS justifies chief’s statement on PM candidate (Lead, superseding previous story) - India Talks
New Delhi/Nagpur, June 20: Justifying the RSS chief’s statement that the country should have a prime minister who propounded Hindutva, the organisation’s spokesman Wednesday said the views should not be linked to “day-to-day political happenings”.
“We always held that Hindutva, the ideological anchor of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a liberal, all-embracing and secular idea,” spokesman Ram Madhav told reporters in New Delhi.
“To portray it as anti-secular or narrow-minded is not correct. Hindutva in reality is a true synonym for secularism,” the RSS spokesman maintained.
“This is our ideological position which we have been articulating from time immemorial and the chief of RSS (Mohan Bhagwat) has only reiterated that position,” Madhav said.
“It is totally, utterly uncalled for to link the views expressed before the swayamsevaks to day-to-day political happenings in the country, to individuals or leaders. This is uncalled for and not appropriate,” he said.
Earlier in the day, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had told cadres in Nagpur: “To keep alive the Hindutva ideology, the Hindu ‘samaaj’ (society) should come together. And the country should have a prime minister who believes in that ideology or propounds that view.”
Bhagwat’s comments come a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition National Democratic Alliance should announce a secular prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Bhagwat had hit out at Nitish Kumar too, saying he was scared to call himself a Hindu and questioned his right to decide what sort of person would make a good prime minister.
IANS
Country needs a Hindu PM: Sangh - deccanchronicle.com
The secularism-Hindutva battle intensified on Wednesday with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat rallying behind Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying the country needed a 'Hindu' leader.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar had decided to take on Mr Modi when the BJP, at its Mumbai national executive, wanted to name the latter chairman of its campaign and selection committee.
This would have been a clear signal that the party wanted to project Mr Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014.
Mr Nitish Kumar, who has to cater to Bihar’s Muslim votebank, made it clear the NDA needed a secular face, sources said.
However, despite the war of words, sources said Mr Kumar had 'assured the BJP leadership he will not quit the NDA'.
A BJP leader claimed the move to pick Mr Modi as head of the BJP campaign and selection committee was also 'conveyed to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithaa'.
It was said that if the BJP managed to get 200 seats in the 2014 general elections on its own, the party will project Mr Modi as Prime Minister.
“Naveen Patnaik and Jayalalithaa had no issues, but Nitish needs to cater to the Muslim votebank in Bihar,” the BJP leader added.
Some BJP leaders were apparently taken unawares by the RSS chief’s anti-Nitish remarks.
Lashing out at Mr Kumar for saying that the NDA needed a secular Prime Minister, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, “Nitish Kumar said NDA’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections should be secular. He wants to keep his vote bank intact.”
Mr Bhagwat was addressing an RSS meeting at Latur in Maharashtra.
Adhering to the Hindutva card, the RSS chief went on to say, “Hinduism is an all-inclusive religion, Hinduism is the religion of humanism, Hinduism follows a broad philosophy.”
Then came the saffron sting, “To keep Hindutva ideology alive, the Hindu samaj needs to come together and the country should have a Prime Minister who believes in this ideology, Mr Bhagwat said.
RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said that 'Hindutva is synonym for secularism'. He then quickly added that the RSS chief’s remarks should not be linked to 'day to day happening in national politics'.
RSS says India need a 'Hindu' leader; Hinduism is secularism - Kerala Next
This would have been a clear signal that the party wanted to project Mr Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014.
Mr Nitish Kumar, who has to cater to Bihar’s Muslim votebank, made it clear the NDA needed a secular face, sources said.
However, despite the war of words, sources said Mr Kumar had 'assured the BJP leadership he will not quit the NDA'.
A BJP leader claimed the move to pick Mr Modi as head of the BJP campaign and selection committee was also 'conveyed to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithaa'.
It was said that if the BJP managed to get 200 seats in the 2014 general elections on its own, the party will project Mr Modi as Prime Minister.
“Naveen Patnaik and Jayalalithaa had no issues, but Nitish needs to cater to the Muslim votebank in Bihar,” the BJP leader added.
Some BJP leaders were apparently taken unawares by the RSS chief’s anti-Nitish remarks. Lashing out at Mr Kumar for saying that the NDA needed a secular Prime Minister, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, “Nitish Kumar said NDA’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections should be secular. He wants to keep his vote bank intact.”
Mr Bhagwat was addressing an RSS meeting at Latur in Maharashtra.
Adhering to the Hindutva card, the RSS chief went on to say, “Hinduism is an all-inclusive religion, Hinduism is the religion of humanism, Hinduism follows a broad philosophy.”
Then came the saffron sting, “To keep Hindutva ideology alive, the Hindu samaj needs to come together and the country should have a Prime Minister who believes in this ideology, Mr Bhagwat said.
RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said that 'Hindutva is synonym for secularism'. He then quickly added that the RSS chief’s remarks should not be linked to 'day to day happening in national politics'.
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