RSS leader Krishna Gopal says the Sangh is an organisation of men, but also denies that the BJP's ideological parent is anti-women.

Asked if a woman could become sarsanghchalak, or the leader of the RSS, Krishna Gopal said, "Mitron, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh purushon ka sangathan hai. [Friends, the RSS is an organisation of men.]"

The RSS joint general secretary then asked how many women were part of the Indian cricket team's playing eleven.

Krishna Gopal, who was speaking at the India Today Conclave 2019 on Friday, said women ran separate organisations, and that men and women didn't need to be in the same group.

In October 2017, at a public meeting in Gujarat, Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked how many women members the RSS had. "Have you seen a woman in shorts at their shakhas? I haven't seen any," he said.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's allegation that the RSS was anti-women, Krishna Gopal asked how that was possible.

RSS members had women in their families, and tradition gave women divine status, he said.