Never said I or someone should retire at 75: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

Delivering a message of unity in the Sangh Parivar, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the organisation had no quarrels with the government even as he rejected talks of ever advocating retirement of leaders who attain 75 years of age.

Answering over 200 questions at the end of a two-day lecture series where he oriented influencers to the mission of the Sangh, Bhagwat said the RSS did not decide on the internal matters of its affiliates, which were “self-dependent”. He was responding to a question about a delay in the election of the BJP chief and, in a message to the ruling party — its affiliate — said, “Had we been deciding matters, would it take this long? Take your time (on BJP chief’s election). We have nothing to say.”

The RSS sarsanghchalak dwelt in detail on his recent comments that were seen as a message to PM Narendra Modi to retire at 75. The controversy had erupted over Bhagwat recalling late RSS leader Moropant Pingle’s remarks that people should retire once they turn 70 and are felicitated with a shawl.

“I was merely recalling the witticism of Moropant Pingle...I never said I will retire or someone else should retire,” Bhagwat said. He clarified that in the Sangh, swayamsevaks were given a job whether or not they wanted and had to execute it irrespective of age.

“At 80, if the Sangh tells me to run a shakha, I have to run it. I cannot say I have completed 75 years and want to enjoy retirement benefits. There are no benefits in the Sangh. Likewise, the Sangh can ask a 35-year-old to sit in office...We do what the Sangh asks us to do. There are 10 people in this hall who can be RSS chiefs and can assume the mantle from me anytime...This is not for anyone’s retirement. We are ready to retire any time in life and ready to work as long as the Sangh wants us to work,” he said.

On the perception of differences with the BJP, the RSS chief said differences stemmed from isms which Sangh cadres did not believe in.

“We can have differences of opinion (matbhed) but never a difference of heart (manbhed). We know our shared goal and are driven by the ideology of nation first. The statement that the RSS decides everything is completely wrong. This can’t ever be. I run shakhas. I am an expert there. They (BJP) run the government. That is their expertise. We can give suggestions but the decision is theirs in their field and ours in our field,” he said, dismissing talks of tension with the BJP and insisting that the Sangh had good coordination with the government despite some contradictions.

In a veiled reference to the PM, he said even if the man in the chair was hundred per cent with the RSS, he might have hurdles and must be given the independence to work.

“There’s no quarrel anywhere,” Bhagwat said. Speaking for three hours, the RSS chief delineated the Sangh’s stance on many controversial issues and said the organisation considered “Hindustan a Hindu Rashtra” and this thought was “non-negotiable”. He, however, added that the Hindu thought did not mean “anti-Islam”.

Calling for the identification and deportation of illegal immigrants, Bhagwat cautioned against demographic imbalances and urged all Indians to consider having three children, but not more.

“Science says societies with less than three birth rates slowly vanish. So we should maintain a birth rate above three. Doctors also describe families with three children as healthier because they learn to manage egos...Our national population policy recommends 2.1 children, which means three. Every Indian must consider having three children,” he said, adding that “there should not be too many more than three”.

Commenting on ideological issues, Bhagwat said though the RSS would never again be associated with any temple movement, having achieved its goal in Ayodhya, “Kashi and Mathura are matters of Hindu faith and Hindus will insist on these”.

“If I as the head of a major Hindu organisation can publicly ask my people not to look for shivlings in every mosque, why can’t the other side defer to Hindu sentiments on Kashi and Mathura? It would be a huge step towards fraternity,” said Bhagwat, appealing for mutual conciliation on the vexed Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque and Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah mosque issues.

The RSS chief also maintained that Akhand Bharat was a reality and everyone should awaken to this.

“Akhand Bharat is not a political issue. Even when we were Akhand Bharat, there were many kings, many borders...but people were bound by shared values and felt as part of one whole. That sentiment should return. Akhand Bharat is a reality. We should proceed with this belief. I have myself said Islam has always lived on in India. Hindu thought is not anti-Islam,” he said, adding that Indian Christians and Muslims must realise they are Indians and not Europeans, Arabs or Turks.

“The Hindu society of India is eagerly awaiting for Muslims and Christians to believe in common consciousness of the past and in shared culture. This will happen once they reject the thought that they are different because they practise a different faith. Only our faith is different. Otherwise we are all one,” Bhagwat said, batting for constitutionally mandated quotas and firmly rejecting the perception that the RSS is a militant organisation.

The RSS chief said no violent organisation could spread to 75 lakh places in India.

“The basis of our work is affection for all....in 1948, Jayaprakash Narayan came with a pledge to burn down the RSS office. After the Emergency, he came to believe that the RSS was the only hope for the future,” the RSS supremo said, adding that the Sangh did not consider anyone a stranger but maintained a distance from political parties that did not want to engage with it for their own reasons.