We understand spirit of Nadda remarks, all is well between RSS, BJP: Hosabale

RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said this in response to a question on the Sangh-BJP relations while addressing a press conference on the second day of the Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal Baithak of the Sangh, held at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The RSS is the BJP’s ideological fountainhead.

“Unke spirit ko bhi humne samjha hai. Unhone kaha Sangh par nirbhar hokar apne ko kaam karna nahi hai. Har sangathan ko apni taaqat badhani chahiye. Sangh ko theka de dia election ka kaam karo. Aisa unka nahi hai… kehte samay unhone kaha hoga. Humein kuch laga hi nahi… Hamare ek bhai ne humko kuch kaha, kuch laga hi nahi. Hum uske baad bhi unke ghar mein jakar bhojan kiye. Sangh aise kheencha taani wagerah nahi karta hai. Humko kahin bhi kuch chhota mota hua to kaise marham patti lagana wo humko malum hai. Hua hi nahi to marham patti kyun lagaein (We have understood the spirit of Nadda’s statement. What he meant was that the BJP doesn’t have to depend upon the RSS. Every organisation must build its own strength. What Nadda meant was that BJP should not depend on RSS to contest elections. Our brother may have said this, we didn’t feel anything. I had lunch at (Nadda’s) home after that. There is no tension. If something happens within the organisation, we know how to fix it. But here, nothing happened, so why fix it),” Hosabale said.

His statement is significant as it comes ahead of the Maharashtra polls, where the BJP and its Mahayuti allies are facing a tough challenge from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. It is understood that the BJP and RSS cadres would have to work together to counter the MVA. It was reflected in the Haryana elections, where a spirited fight by a united Sangh Parivar handed a shock defeat to the Congress.

In an interview to The Indian Express during the recent Lok Sabha elections, Nadda had said the BJP did not need the RSS as it was now “saksham (capable)” on its own.

The BJP faced a setback in the Lok Sabha polls as it stalled short of a simple majority winning 240 seats, which led to its reliance on its NDA allies like the TDP and the JD(U) for its third term at the Centre.

Following the Lok Sabha poll results, certain RSS statements were perceived as adding insult to the BJP’s electoral injury. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in his first speech after the polls, had underlined “ahankar (arrogance)” as unnecessary in the “service of the people”. Days after this, senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar said Lord Ram limited those with “ahankar” to just 240 seats, referring to the BJP tally, and those who opposed the Hindu deity were “stopped at 234”, referring to the Opposition INDIA bloc tally. However, the RSS later clarified that this was a “family matter” and all was well.

Hosabale on Saturday also attacked the Congress. “We do not have tension with anyone, be it the BJP or the Congress. We meet people from all walks of life. Aap nafrat ke bazaar mein muhabbat ki dukaan chalate hain, lekin humse milna nahi chahate. Hum to sab se milna chahte hain (The Congress claims to spread love in a hateful environment, but refuses to interact with the RSS. We want to interact with everyone)… The way social untouchability is wrong, so is a political one,” he said.

The RSS also reacted to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “batenge to katenge (divided we will fall)” slogan, saying the Sangh too has always said the same thing. “Batenge-katenge… the slogan can be anything… The spirit is that if Hindu society does not remain united, then history shows… a great disaster will strike and religious places and institutions will be destroyed,” Hosabale said.

“If we remain divided on the basis of caste, region and language, ‘to hum katenge (we will fall)’. So unity is important. But this won’t happen with sermons. It has to be brought into our behaviour. Hindu unity is for the good of all… There are forces working to break Hindu society… There are many types of forces: casteist, ideological… so we have to remain alert,” Hosabale added.

Adityanath had made the “batenge to katenge” comment in August at a public meeting in Agra while talking about violence in Bangladesh. “Aap dekh rahe hain Bangladesh mein kya ho raha hai? Wo galatiyan yahan nahi honi chahiye. Batenge toh katenge (Are you seeing what is happening in Bangladesh? Those mistakes should not be repeated here. Divided we will fall),” he had said. The slogan has since appeared on some election hoardings in Maharashtra with pictures of Adityanath.

In Mathura, Adityanath also spent 45 minutes in a closed-door meeting with top RSS leaders. Hosabale said the UP CM sought the Sangh’s help in ensuring the participation of certain communities, such as Lingayats of Karnataka, who have stayed away from grand Hindu festivals, including the Kumbh Mela. He said Adityanath also said the Sangh must help in bringing all sections of the Hindu society, particularly tribal communities, to the Kumbh Mela and use the event to propagate its message of social harmony.

“We said we will help,” Hosabale said.

The meeting comes ahead of nine Assembly bypolls in UP. Adityanath is said to be going all out to ensure the BJP is victorious in a majority of these seats. The BJP suffered a blow in UP in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where it finished with 33 seats out of a total 80 compared to its tally of 62 in the 2019 polls.

At its two-day meet, the RSS also discussed the need to reach out to the depressed classes of the Hindu society and admitted that some religious conversions were caused by the continued practice of untouchability. “Conversions also happen due to untouchability and poverty. So, we have to be sensitive towards our brethren. We should tell them that we are there with them,” Hosabale said.

“In his Vijayadashami speech (on October 12), RSS chief (Bhagwat) brought up some issues. We discussed them. How society can stay together, for its own security, and what it can do… What the administration has to do, it will do… (But) fraternity, sensitivity and harmony are feelings that should be generated in society. That we are all one is reflected in our behaviour is what the RSS is striving for,” Hosabale added.

The Sangh has been putting emphasis on reaching out to Dalits and Backward Classes since the Opposition has raised the caste census as a poll issue and has been accusing the BJP of ignoring Dalits. The community was also understood to have drifted away from the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls leading to its poor performance.