The BJP on Friday dismissed the Congress' criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's praise of the RSS in his Independence Day address, asserting that the Hindutva organisation's ideology is shaping India's public discourse today.
BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya recalled that the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had invited the RSS to join the Republic Day parade in 1963 and had called it an organisation of patriots.
"As the RSS marks 100 years, it is fitting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentions it from the Red Fort," he said, reacting to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's criticism.
Malviya said, "India's public discourse today is shaped by RSS ideology, while the Congress is detached not only from the realities of our times but also from Nehru himself." In his speech, Modi had hailed 100 years of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a "very proud and glorious" journey of likely the "world's biggest NGO" and lauded all its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation.
Ramesh termed it as "most troubling", saying it is a "breach" of the spirit of constitutional and secular republic and a desperate attempt to appease the Sangh in the run-up to his 75th birthday.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it is "deeply regrettable" that Modi chose to praise the RSS in his Independence Day speech and called it an organisation with a "dubious historical record".
Himself a RSS 'pracharak' for decades, Modi has praised the organisation earlier too and chose the occasion to highlight its journey since its foundation in 1925.
The RSS has been connected with the BJP, and its functionaries work at key positions in the party organisation.
Before Modi, leading BJP figures like former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani too were in the RSS for different periods of time.
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