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'Not for an individual or party, but policy': Bhagwat on RSS affinity for BJP, says ‘would have supported Congress if…’
Mohan Bhagwat claimed the RSS does not support any political party and doesn't mandate members to join any particular party, but only supports certain policies.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday stated that all doors, except one, are closed to its members who wish to enter politics, noting that only the BJP accepts Sangh members.
Bhagwat claimed the RSS does not support any political party and doesn't mandate members to join any particular party. He was addressing the ‘100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons’ event in Bengaluru.
"We don't have a special affinity towards one party. There is no Sangh party. No party is ours and all parties are ours because they are Indian parties,” he said. He alleged that the doors of all parties, except the BJP, are closed for RSS members.
“One party says, ‘oh you are RSS wallah, get out. We don't want you here’. Another party says ‘no, we have resolved not to let anybody enter in our party unless he forgoes his relationship with the Sangh.' So every door is closed for a Swayamsevak. The only open door, he seeks refuge there — he goes to the BJP,” Bhagwat said.
The RSS is acknowledged widely as the ideological parent body of the BJP, but both claim to have independent decision-making.
Also read: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on next BJP president: ‘If we were to decide, would it have taken so long?'
The RSS chief said the organisation supports policies, not parties or individuals. He did not name anyone.
"We will exert our force to support the right policy, not an individual, not a party, but policy," he explained.
Citing an example of the movement to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Bhagwat said the Sangh volunteers supported it, and the organisation stood by its construction. "So, the BJP was there (to support it). If Congress or any other party had supported it, we would have supported them as well," he remarked.
Also read: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat speaks on Modi retirement, US tariffs & more | Top quotes
The dual membership of RSS members
The dual membership issue was at the core of the collapse of the Janata Party government in 1979as well. It was a term coined to describe Janata Party legislators who were also members of the RSS.
The Janata Party, which formed the first non-Congress government in independent India in 1977, was formed through the merger of several political parties. It consisted of various Congress factions, several socialist and regional parties, as well as the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which was the precursor to the BJP. Once the government was formed, disputes arose regarding the BJS members' retention of their RSS identity.
