By IANS,
Lucknow : Denying that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has any role in active politics, its chief Mohan Bhagwat Sunday rubbished recent media reports of the RSS involvement in selecting Nitin Gadkari as the president of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Neither do we indulge in politics nor we make efforts to install individuals in important posts,” Bhagwat told a gathering at an RSS function organised here.
Without mentioning Gadkari’s name, Bhagwat said: “We have not given him the post. Even though indulging in politics is against the Sangh’s tradition, there have been reports in the media that we helped him to acquire the post.”
He admitted that a number of “Sangh sewaks” (RSS workers) have entered politics, but stressed it was their personal decision.
Reiterating that the Sangh was not a “political outfit”, Bhagwat said, “Actually, we don’t believe in politics as it leads to society’s disintegration. But we do indulge in ‘rashtriya niti (national policy)’ and will continue to do the same for the sake of national integration.”
Bhagwat said there were a number of “misconceptions” regarding the RSS among the people. “For this I would suggest people should know about the Sangh…They should come closer, join it and then after an experience of six months to one year, they would be able to draw the real conclusion about Sangh.”
The RSS chief also expressed concern over the political scenario in the country. “Politics is being done to get the power only and nothing else. Politicians, who should work for emotional integration, are causing emotions to flare up by raking up issues related to caste, creed, and religion.”
Bhagwat also condemned the racial attacks on Indian students in Australia and asked the central government to take adequate measures for protection of Indians not only in Australia, but in other countries also.
The RSS chief also pulled up the organisation’s workers and others who had installed a number of welcome hoardings for him at the prominent places in the city.
“From newspapers I came to know the hoardings were installed. But all this is against the tradition of Sangh. We don’t indulge in such things,” he said, asking them to ensure such a thing does not take place in future.