Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar.
Credit: PTI File Photo
RSS leader Indresh Kumar, who found himself in hot soup after claiming that it was the arrogance of the BJP that led to a reduction of their seats in the Lok Sabha to 241, has now tried to clarify his statement by saying that the poll results have revealed that those who had opposed Lord Ram are the ones who have been handed a loss in the parliamentary elections while the ones who had made construction of a Ram temple their primary objective have again found themselves in power.
"The mood of the country is very clear at present. Those who opposed Lord Ram are not in power; those who set the goal to respect Lord Ram are in power and the government has been formed for the third time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Kumar has now said, as per a report by NDTV.
Kumar's initial comment came in the wake of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat saying that “ahankar” (arrogance) should not be seen in a true “sevak”.
The BJP and the RSS are set to sit for a ‘samanway’ baithak on July 31.
Speaking at a function on the outskirts of Jaipur in Rajasthan, the RSS national executive member took a swipe at the BJP, without naming them. “The party which did ‘bhakti’ but became arrogant, was stopped at 241 (240), but then they became the biggest party,” Kumar said.
The publication cited an RSS source as saying, "There is no rift between the RSS and the BJP," further adding, "There was not much difference in his (Mr Bhagwat's) speech from what he had given after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Any address is bound to make a reference to an event as important as national elections. But it was misinterpreted and taken out of context to create confusion. His 'arrogance' remark was never directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any BJP leader."
Kumar’s comments came at a time when RSS has been airing some of its displeasure with the BJP. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, without naming the BJP, said in a function earlier this week on Monday, that elections should be a “consensus-building” process, and the Opposition should be identified as “pratipaksh” (counterpart). The RSS mouthpiece Organiser, too, in an article by RSS member Ratan Sharda, stated that the “false ego” of BJP leaders led them to believe that the RSS workers were “country bumpkins”.
With DHNS inputs
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