RSS’s Jaipur Prant Sanghchalak Dr Ramesh Agarwal on Tuesday said the RSS is not actively engaged in getting dissenting BJP leaders back into the party fold.
Asked at a press conference if dissident BJP leaders will be brought back, Dr Agarwal said this was not the thinking of the Sangh. “If that person seeks advice then the Sangh gives it keeping in mind the welfare of the country and the state. But the Sangh does not actively go after dissenters to bring them back to the BJP.”
Asked about Dr Kirori Lal Meena rejoining the BJP, Agarwal said he returned as he is aligned with the RSS ideology.
Meena, a powerful leader in eastern Rajasthan, rejoined the BJP on March 11 after nine years. He is the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha. On rejoining the BJP, Meena had said that he had returned not on directions of the state or central unit of the party but on directions of the ‘vichar pariwar’.
“He is a sangh swayamsevak. So he might have felt that he should return such a party (with which he is ideologically aligned) but had left due to some differences,” said Agarwal.
Agarwal said a grand Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya driven by the aspirations of the people and not due to politics being played on the issue.
“The temple already exists in Ayodhya. But now a grand temple will be built there. Ram is in the heart of every Indian and only a Ram temple can come up at Ayodhya.”
{{/usCountry}}“The temple already exists in Ayodhya. But now a grand temple will be built there. Ram is in the heart of every Indian and only a Ram temple can come up at Ayodhya.”
{{/usCountry}}Asked if the BJP was raking up the issue in view of general elections, Agarwal said the BJP might be politicising the issue but the RSS has refrained from it.
He said RSS had backed the saints and organisations such as VHP that are campaigning for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Agarwal said the RSS has increased its footprint in the country. RSS work had reached 42% of mandals in the country and the partinidhi sabha resolved to increase the coverage to 100% mandals by 2021.
Giving an outline of the All India Pratinidhi Sabha held from March 9 to 11 in Nagpur, he said the meeting passed a resolution on the need to preserve Indian languages. He said primary education should be in mother tongue and teaching study material and option of appearing in exams in higher education should be available in Indian languages.