BJP govt in MP pays for RSS function

Ideology and money do go together if the former flows from the Sangh Parivar and the latter from a BJP-ruled state. An international conference on cooperatives,organised in Bhopal last month,was touted as a joint venture between Sahakar Bharati,an RSS body,and the Madhya Pradesh government.

More than a month-and-a-half after the event,the BJP government has admitted that the RSS body did not spend a penny but has done the state and the country proud by co-hosting an international-level conference.

On the eve of the event,the Congress had alleged that various cooperative bodies were being forced to cough up donations.

In a written reply,Minister of Cooperatives Gaurishanker Bisen admitted that the state government contributed Rs 25 lakh out of the Rs 68 lakh raised for the event and the remainder came from state cooperative bodies like MP State Cooperative Bank.