also on Daily Mail see below:
BJP embarrassed again as RSS chief Bhagwat claims Hindus should 'weigh and assess their power'
In
another act of embarrassment for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat stoked controversy
again on Sunday by remarking that India belongs to the Hindus.
“Hindustan
is our nation, a rashtra of Hindus,” the RSS Sarsanghchalak said in
Meerut while addressing a meeting of several wings of the party.
“But
we have to expand it by uniting all Hindus. Our country would become
great if we succeed in uniting the Hindus. This unity will also be a
bliss for the world. The world will awaken if the Hindus are united and
awakened,” he added.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said: "Our country would become great if we succeed in uniting the Hindus".
Bhagwat claimed that the situation, which was against the Hindus for last many decades, was now in their favour.
“Now,
we are in a position to weigh and assess our power. It is not the
favourable or unfavourable situation which helps us in pursuing our
plans. It is our power which ensures our success. But it is also true
that currently the circumstances are in our favour. This was not the
situation before. In the past, nobody in the world used to care about
the Sangh. Our workers had no means to take forward our ideology. But
the situation has changed,” Bhagwat told Sangh workers.
It
was only recently that US President Barack Obama, during his visit to
New Delhi, had warned India against religious intolerance in the
country. Bhagwat also said although there was caste system in the
country and people were aware of it, now is the time to change it and
unite the Hindu community beyond caste lines.
It
was not the first time that the RSS chief has equated India with only
one religion. He said this in the recent past in Mumbai and
Bhubaneswar.
Cadres take part in an RSS programme in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
Speaking
on similar lines, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Praveen Togadia
had claimed a few days ago that those who were living in India were
Hindus.
Viewing such statements in the light of the Constitution of India, observers dubbed Bhagwat’s remark weird and unacceptable.
Spokesperson
of the Uttar Pradesh unit of Congress Dwijendra Tripathi said: “The
people had voted the BJP to power in the name of development. They
didn’t know that the Sangh Parivar will take up religious and other
contentious issues. The silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on these
statements and activities of the RSS and its other wings are
deplorable. He must not be unaware that such a demand is against the
basic tenets of the Constitution of India.”
Bhagwat has been camping in Meerut since Friday and meeting senior RSS, VHP and BJP leaders of the state.
Ghaziabad
MP and Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh, Meerut MP
Rajendra Agrawal, Prant Prachar Pramukh of RSS Ajay Mittal and BJP state
president Laxmikant Bajpai have met him over the past two days.
'Demolish Allahabad fort'
Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow
Kicking
up another controversy, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday
claimed that the fort built by Mughal emperor Akbar in Allahabad is a
‘symbol of slavery’ and demanded its demolition.
The VHP called the fort "a symbol of slavery" that should be torn down
“This
fort, along the banks of Yamuna river, should be razed and a shelter
home for poor pilgrims should be constructed in its place. We cannot let
this building stand here because it symbolises slavery,” VHP leader
Ashok Singhal said.
The
Allahabad fort, built by Akbar in 1583, is the fourth largest fort
built by him. Currently, the structure is used as an ordnance depot by
the Indian Army.
'SCs are religious warriors'
VHP patron Ashok Singhal (right) with Shankaracharya Vasudevan and Saraswati of Badrikashram in Allahabad
Echoing
the views of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) call to bring the
Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the fold of the Sangh Parivar, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) patron Ashok Singhal has come out in support of members
of Valmiki and Sonkar castes urging they be treated equally and
respectfully.
“The
Valmikis, Sonkars and other Scheduled Castes are dharm-yoddhas
(religious warriors). They should be honoured instead of being
ostracised, he said.
The
VHP patriarch alleged Islamic invaders had, many centuries ago,
compelled a section of Hindus to take up menial tasks as they had
refused to convert to Islam despite untold acts of oppression.
“The
people consider them as untouchables. But they actually belong to the
upper Hindu castes. They fought against the Islamic rulers. This was the
reason why they were forced to do menial works and were pushed back in
the society,” he added.
Singhal shared these views while addressing a meeting of the seers and members of the Sangh Parivar in Allahabad on Saturday.
Choosing
to play the religious card, Singhal urged the Centre to start the
process for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya and declared that his
party would soon start a campaign to take over the holy cities of Kashi
and Mathura.
“The Centre must pave the way for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We also want back Kashi and Mathura,” he said.
Going
against the various studies made by historians, the saffron brigade
claims that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had ordered demolition of a section
of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple to construct the Gyanvapi mosque.
Mathura has also been in VHP agenda since the beginning.
In
an oblique reference to the victory of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in
the Lok Sabha polls last year, Singhal said: “Prithviraj Chauhan had
established Hindu rule in the country 800 years ago. Once again the
Hindus are in power again. They have awakened. We must keep this
awakening alive.”
