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RSS wants young leaders to take over BJP

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants the reins of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the hands of young leaders. This has been communicated to the BJP top brass, the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said, reports HT Correspondent.

Updated on: Nov 15, 2009, 01:14:47 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Pune
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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants the reins of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the hands of young leaders. This has been communicated to the BJP top brass, the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday.

HT Image
HT Image

Bhagwat said the question of RSS controlling the BJP does not arise since the RSS does not own the BJP.

He said the RSS advises the BJP only when its opinion is sought and it was up to the latter to decide whether to follow the advice or not.

He said the RSS would have entered into politics long time back if its real interests lay in politics or if it was inevitable for its goals.

RSS activists, who were interested in politics, joined the Jan Sangh or the BJP because the ideology was similar. “They used to seek advice from us whenever required but it was not compulsory for them to implement our advice,” he said.

On the LK Advani-Mohammad Ali Jinnah controversy, Bhagwat said Advani had made certain remarks in a speech and it would be unfair to judge his stand on the basis of those remarks. In 2005, Advani had called Jinnah a secular man.

Jinnah had some part of his life working with Lokmanya Tilak and he was secular but he was the same person who demanded separate nation, Bhagwat said. “How can one forget the history?” he asked.

On Naxalism in Maharashtra, Bhagwat said the government needs to take strong steps against Naxalites who were challenging the nation’s sovereignty.

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