By IANS,
New Delhi : Amid a raging political storm in the BJP following Jaswant Singh’s book on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah that criticised Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat Friday said the two were “respectable” figures for the organsiation.
The comment from the leader of the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes days after the release of Jaswant Singh’s book — “Jinnah – India, Partition, Independence” — that led to the author’s expulsion from the BJP.
Bhagwat, however, brushed aside the controversy triggered by the book.
Asked if the RSS was trying to adopt the legacy of Nehru and Patel, Bhagwat said: “It is not about adopting somebody. But if somebody does good work he is respectable for us.”
Reacting to his predecessor K.S. Sudarshan’s appreciation of Jinnah’s role, the RSS chief said: “There are no two ideologies in the RSS. For him (Sudarshan) also these people (Nehru and Patel) are respectable.”
The RSS chief was speaking for the first time since the crisis erputed in the BJP.
He said that he was yet to read the controversial book but promised to read it soon and form his opinion.
“I have not read the book. I haven’t got the time to read it, but I will read it. When I have read it, I will also form an opinion.”
Asked about senior Sangh leader H.V. Seshadri’s book, “Tragedy of Pakistan”, in which he has held India’s first home minister Sardar Patel also responsible for the partition, Bhagwat said: “He had only chronicled and analysed the events that took place (leading to partition).”
Both Seshadri and Jaswant Singh have held India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel responsible for the partition of the country in 1947.