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
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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."
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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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“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.
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