look news india
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has once again made a sharp ideological attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). During a public program and dialogue session, Rahul Gandhi bluntly said that he finds great joy and spiritual satisfaction in confronting and fighting against the ideology of the Sangh. He directly termed the RSS as a ‘male-chauvinist’ and ‘unconstitutional’ organization and alleged that the Sangh is continuously trying to weaken the democratic structure of the country, the Constitution written by Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and the diverse social fabric.
Rahul Gandhi said that his fight is not about any personal hatred or political rivalry, but a historical war between two completely opposite and clear ideologies. On the one hand, there is the view of Congress and opposition parties which advocates the Constitution of India, social justice, pluralism, equality of women and fundamental rights of every citizen; On the other hand, there is the thinking of RSS which wants to run the country only through a specific lens and centralized control. After this aggressive statement of the Leader of Opposition, a new political battle has broken out between Congress and BJP at the national level.
In his address, Rahul Gandhi especially raised questions on the organizational structure of the Sangh. He said that RSS does not provide equal participation to women in its branches and at the top level of policy-making. According to Rahul, how can an organization in whose structure there is no real place in top positions for half the population i.e. women of the country, talk about modern India and equality?
He said that the entire functioning of the Sangh is inspired by male supremacist thinking, where women are advocated only to be confined within traditional boundaries. The Leader of Opposition stressed that the new India of the 21st century will move forward from the leadership of women, their economic independence and supreme role in decision making, and not from any narrow and conservative thinking. This is the reason why they strongly oppose this system of the Sangh and consider it their duty to raise their voice against it.
Explaining his reasoning for calling the RSS ‘unconstitutional’, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the RSS refrains from openly attacking the Constitution, but behind the scenes is waging a campaign to capture the constitutional and autonomous institutions of the country. He said that today, instead of merit, only people belonging to a particular ideology are being appointed in the country’s judiciary, election commission, universities, investigating agencies and bureaucracy in a systematic manner.
Rahul Gandhi said that when the impartiality of autonomous institutions is lost and they start running under the remote control of some organization, then the Constitution itself becomes ineffective. He called upon the workers that they are not just contesting a political election but are fighting to protect the basic existence of the Republic of India and the democratic rights of the people. He made it clear that every time the Sangh files legal cases against him or tries to suppress him in Parliament, his voice will be louder.
In the most talked about part of his address, Rahul Gandhi said that many people ask him why he targets RSS so much and are he not tired of it? To this he replied smilingly that this ideological struggle with the Sangh is not a matter of compulsion for him, rather he gets immense joy and energy in fighting it.
He said that when you stand against the arrogance of a huge power for truth, justice and the rights of the weak, that struggle does not seem a burden. He said that the tradition of his family and the Congress Party has always been of fear-free politics. He reiterates the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi that the path of truth may be difficult, but it ultimately triumphs. Rahul reiterated that he is not going to back down at any cost.
On this sharp statement of Rahul Gandhi, leaders associated with Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh have immediately and strongly retaliated. BJP spokespersons termed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as a result of his ‘desperation’ and ‘ignorance towards Indian culture’. The ruling party says that RSS is the world’s largest voluntary and nationalist social organization, which comes forward selflessly to serve the country at the time of any natural disaster, war or crisis.
BJP leaders said that the Sangh has given dedicated and patriotic leadership to the country and by continuously raising questions on the patriotism of the Sangh, Rahul Gandhi is actually insulting the roots of Indian society. On the issue of women’s participation, Sangh supporters argued that through Rashtra Sevika Samiti, women have been playing an independent and unprecedented role in the field of social service, nation building and empowerment for decades. BJP hit back saying that the Congress party, which is under the control of a particular family, has no moral right to point a finger at those democratic and voluntary organizations which are engaged in the welfare of crores of citizens without any government help. Overall, this statement of Rahul Gandhi has once again brought the ideological debate of ‘Constitution vs Union’ to the center stage in the upcoming election environment.