Those who oppose us also ours… we are for yukt Bharat, not mukt: RSS chief

Bhagwat said the RSS believes in the approach to unite and invite everyone. “If there has to be opposition, it should be based on factual positions,” he said.

“Isme Sangh ko paraya koi nahin hai. Jo aaj hamara virodh karte hain, woh bhi hamare hain, yeh pucca hai. Unke virodh se hamari kshati na ho, itni chinta hum zaroor karenge (Nobody is an outsider for the Sangh. Those who oppose us today are also ours. That’s certain. We will be concerned if their opposition is going to harm us),” he said.

He credited the Congress for its role in the freedom movement. He said after the 1857 War of Independence, leading figures had a brainstorming session on what led to the failure to gain freedom and they realised that one of the factors was that people lacked political understanding, and that there was need to create political awareness.

“Aur isliye Congress ke roop me ek bada andolan saare desh me khada hua. Usme bhi anek sarvasva tyagi mahapurush jinki prerna aaj bhi hamare jeevan ki prerna me kaam karti hai, aise paida hue aur desh ke sarva samaanya vyakti ko swatantrata ke liye raaste par lakar khada karne ka kaam uss dhara ne kiya (A huge movement began in the form of the Congress. There were many great souls who sacrificed a lot and continue to inspire us today. That ideology placed the nation on the road to freedom),” he said.

On the allegations of the Opposition parties that the BJP-led government is controlled by the RSS, Bhagwat said, “Remote control… aise shabd chalte hain (such words are used)… They are RSS volunteers and they draw ideas from the Sangh. The Sangh remains vigilant against mistakes… Since they are swayamsevaks, they visit each other, help each other in noble work… They meet and exchange ideas but they are not bound to follow those ideas.”

“Sangh aaj ek shakti ke roop me desh me upasthit hai, aisa anubhav saari duniya ko ho raha hai… koi kaam badhta hai… ek shakti swaroop ban jata hao to kisi-kisi ko uss shakti ka darr bhi lagta hai toh phir uske baare mei apprachar bhi hota hai (Sangh is a force to reckon with in the country and the world is beginning to realise this… when such work progresses, some people tend to fear and start an adverse campaign),” he said.

Because of such adverse publicity, the Sangh has maintained a record of its works over the last 20 years. “RSS does not want domination. It will be a major defeat for the RSS if any good thing happens in the country because of the domination of the RSS,” Bhagwat said, adding that the Sangh believes that the country prospers only due to the work of the common people.

He said the RSS respects the Tricolour yet questions are always raised on the use of the saffron flag in shakhas instead of the Tricolour. “Swayamsevaks have been associated with the honour of the Tricolour since the birth of the Tricolour,” he said.