Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday stepped into ongoing controversy around Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's remarks on democracy saying Gandhi should speak more responsibly. RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said that Gandhi should speak more responsibly and see the reality of the Sangh's acceptance in society. He was speaking at a press conference on the last day of RSS's 'Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha' in Samalkha, Haryana.
His remarks come in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's repeated target to RSS in his speeches.
Asked about Gandhi's recent remarks against the RSS, Hosabale said he must be doing this for his "political agenda" but RSS does not work in the political field and he has no competition with the Sangh.
Responding to questions on Gandhi's remarks in the UK, the RSS leader said, "Those who converted India into a jail have no right to comment on democracy in the country."
"Thousands of people including me were put behind the bars during Emergency. They (Congress) are yet to apologise for this. The country will ask them if they have a moral right to talk about democracy," he said.
If there is no democracy in the country, how are elections being held and Parliament functioning in the country, he asked.
"His party also won in one or two elections," Hosabale pointed out. Speaking in UK recently, Gandhi had alleged that the structures of Indian democracy are under “brutal attack” and BJP and RSS have captured almost all institutions. He has often accused the Sangh of fanning hate and creating divisions in society.
The RSS leader said the national education policy was framed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi regime after getting feedback from the grassroots levels including panchayats "unlike under the Congress-led UPA regime when policies were framed by the National Advisory Committee".
"People of the country and world are watching. They all know what is the truth. Perhaps he also knows," he said, adding time will give the Congress leader a befitting reply.
(With PTI input)
