Opinion View from the right: Gandhi smriti

The Organiser editorial condemns Rahul Gandhi’s “false allegations against the organisation dedicated to nation-building” and instead turns the tables on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty because “it is timely to ask a question, who killed Gandhi and his idea of ‘Swaraj’…” An editorial in Panchjanya claims that Rahul Gandhi’s invocation of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination only reflects his “immaturity” and laments that the leader of the grand old party has “cipher” knowledge of history.

“The killing of Gandhi’s thought started with the continuation of British education based on self-interest, bookish information and defeatist perception of our own history… in the name of Gandhi, his ‘Swaraj’ was murdered in every walk of life in independent India,” says the editorial in the Organiser.

The editorial suggests that the “Gandhi scion has again displayed his depth of immaturity by invoking the issue of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination” in the run-up to the elections: “As the ‘sole inheritor’ of the Gandhian legacy gave his new interpretation, where ‘rights’ are more important than duties and ‘trusteeship’ is not a trustworthy model, one has to think which Gandhi is to be believed, Gandhi whose body was murdered by Godse or Gandhis who killed Gandhi’s thought on [a] regular basis, while encashing his name…”

NAXAL CHALLENGE

The Organiser and Panchjanya raise the alarm over the recent Naxal attack on security forces in Chhattisgarh just before the Lok Sabha elections, calling it an “open challenge to both the Central and state governments”. While blaming the “repetition of mistakes” in not following the SOPs for force movement, an article in Panchjanya stresses that the attack was a manifestation of the Naxals’ weakened influence that came to the fore during the last assembly election, which witnessed 72 per cent voter participation.

“This time election as a whole seems to be the target of the Naxalites,” says a report in the Organiser, referring to the “incessant series of attacks by Naxalites just before elections in Chhattisgarh and Bihar”. An article in Panchjanya suggests the EC should revise its strategy for polls after this attack.

RSS ROLE

In an attempt to set the record straight about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks during the recently held Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, which appeared to set the rules for the mobilisation of cadres in the run-up to polls, both Parivar weeklies claim the RSS maintains an arm’s length from active politicking. “ ‘Rashtraniti’ not ‘Rajniti’ is primary work of RSS,” declares an article quoting Bhagwat. While the article says that “a section of the media wrongly interpreted the views expressed by Sarsanghchalak… and also quoted him in the wrong context”.

“The way national situation has deteriorated in the last 10 years, who should not rule the nation has become evident for society. Our role is to ensure 100 per cent voting on the basis of issues of national importance. We have been politically influenced and we can use that in the national interest, when and where required, but we know our limits as well,” the article says.

An editorial in Panchjanya argues that “shallow” people misinterpreted Bhagwat’s remarks, which it claims re-affirmed the RSS emphasis on “nation first”.

Compiled by Ravish Tiwari