Congress: Hindu Mahasabha, RSS ‘collaborated’ with British

Aditi Tandon

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 19

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today led his party’s attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who yesterday said the BJP’s share of post-Independence adversities was larger than that of the Congress.

Posting a prayer for the PM — “Asatoma Sadgamaya Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya…” (Lead me from ignorance to truth and darkness to light…) – on his Twitter, Rahul set the tone for Congress’ rebuttal of his remarks and demanded an apology for what was said yesterday.

“The PM has spoken a shocking untruth and lowered the dignity of his office by insulting freedom fighters. He must withdraw his statement and apologise,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, later citing historical records to “remind” the PM that his ideological ancestors were non-participants in India’s freedom struggle.

Congress’ argument is —pre-Independence, the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha collaborated with the British against India’s freedom struggle and post-Independence, BJP leaders became direct beneficiaries of the Indian Constitution enjoying long years in office (such as PM Modi as a Gujarat ex-CM).

To question the nationalistic credentials of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, whose ideological descendant the BJP is, Sharma referred to documents, including ones that detail the twin outfits’ opposition to the Quit India Movement.

“I may remind the PM that Congress ministers and CMs resigned from all provincial governments after the British unilaterally decided on India’s participation in the World War II in 1939. The Hindu Mahasabha led by Veer Savarkar, however, wrote to the then Viceroy Linlithgow saying they will participate in provincial governments alongside the Muslim League. Resultantly, Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee became a minister in the Bengal government,” Sharma said.

The Congress leader quoted another July 26, 1942, letter (sourced from British Political Home Department files) which Mookerjee wrote to then Bengal Governor John Hobart. The Congress sharpened its attack using Sardar Patel’s letters banning the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and the six mercy petitions Savarkar wrote to the British.

On BJP’s post-Independence days, Sharma had this take: “Gandhiji was in jail for 11 years and Jawaharlal Nehru for 13. The BJP post-Independence was in power at the Centre roughly for as much time as Gandhiji was in jail. How are they saying they suffered more than the leaders of the Congress who led the freedom struggle?”