New Delhi, Feb 12: The Congress has come down hard on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for what it described as “disrespectful” remarks against the Indian Army. While party president Rahul Gandhi demanded an immediate apology from the RSS chief, his party leader Shashi Tharoor said the Army should be kept away from politics.
“Jo Mohan Bhagwat ji ka bayan hai, wo bilkul galat hai. Hamare jo jawan apna khoon dete hain, border par ladte hai, unke baare mein Mohan Bhagwat Ji ne jo bola hai, bilkul galat hai. Unko maafi maangni chahiye (What Mohan Bhagwat ji said is completely wrong. Our jawans are sacrificing their lives on the border and he is making such kind of statement. He should apologise,” Rahul Gandhi, who campaigning in Karnataka for the upcoming Assembly elections, told the reporters.
“Shame on you Mr Bhagwat, for disrespecting our martyrs and our Army,” Rahul Gandhi had tweeted on Monday morning.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor too slammed Bhagwat for his controversial statement, saying a bunch of bamboo stick-wielding men in khaki shorts should not be compared with the Army.
“Quite shocked to hear him (Mohan Bhagwat) comparing Army unfavorably with the RSS. Really unworthy, Let us keep Army beyond politics. Let us not compare a bunch of young people with bamboo sticks and khaki shorts to Army,” Tharoor said.
RSS Clarifies
The backlash over Bhagwat’s statement that he made during a speech on Sunday (February 11) forced the RSS to issue a clarification. The organisation said that Bhagwat’s statement has been distorted.
“Ours is not a military organisation. But we have discipline like the military. If the country needs it and the Constitution permits… it takes six or seven months to prepare an Army… but swayamsevaks, if asked, can do it in three days… this is what we are capable of,” Bhagwat reportedly said.