Bhagwat rubbishes claims of RSS control over BJP amid delay in selection of new party chief

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday said it didn’t take decisions on internal matters of its affiliated organisations, which were free to manage their affairs.

Answering questions about ties with BJP and perceptions that the Sangh decides everything related to its organisations, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said today that RSS didn’t decide these things. “To say that RSS decides everything is completely wrong... Had we been deciding, would it have taken this long?” Bhagwat said in response to questions about delays in the selection of a new BJP president. He added in a message to BJP: “Take your time. We have nothing to say.”

Bhagwat also said RSS didn’t have any quarrels with any of its organisations because all were driven by the goal of “nation first”.

“We have good coordination with all governments at the centre and states, but systems sometimes have internal contradictions. Even if the person in the chair is 100 per cent with us, he may have hurdles. So, we have to give him independence. There’s no quarrel anywhere,” he said.

Bhagwat said there could sometimes be an appearance of quarrel. “We can have differences of opinion, but we never have differences of heart,” he said, dismissing talks of tensions with BJP. He added that RSS and its organisations were guided by the policy of “nation first” and therefore quarrels were reconciled. “Differences stem from ideologies. We can have some differences in opinion, but no differences in intent,” he said.

On a question about whether RSS decides everything for its organisations, Bhagwat said it was completely wrong. “This can never be. I run shakhas; I am an expert there. They (BJP) run the government; that is their expertise. We can give them suggestions, but the decision is theirs in their field and ours in ours. Had we been deciding, would it have taken this long?” asked Bhagwat.