Opposition slams PM for hailing RSS as ‘world’s biggest NGO’

The Congress-led Opposition on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for describing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor, as the “world’s biggest NGO” in his Independence Day speech. The Opposition sought to know whether the organisation even possessed a mandatory registration certificate.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked, “Where is the RSS’ registration certificate? An NGO must have one. Where are its bank accounts?” He went on to accuse the RSS of “spying for the British during its first 25 years, dishonouring the Tricolour and Constitution in the next 25, playing temple-mosque politics in the following 25, and finally, in the past 25 years, snatching the rights of Dalits and backward classes.” Such an NGO, he said, “should be shut down as soon as possible”.

Khera alleged that apart from “spreading hatred”, the RSS had no contribution to the nation, adding that its role in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination had “always remained suspicious”. It should be renamed “Rashtriya Sandighda Sangathan” (suspicious organisation), he quipped.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also criticised the PM’s remarks, posting on X that glorifying the RSS on Independence Day was “an insult” since the organisation had “opposed the freedom struggle, rejected the Constitution and served colonial masters”. He said equating Savarkar with Gandhi was not history but “a betrayal of it”.

Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, too, targeted the government for featuring Savarkar’s portrait above Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh in its Independence Day advertisements. Calling it a “calculated act”, he said the move undermined secular values and reminded that though Savarkar had been acquitted in the Gandhi assassination case, the Kapur Commission had cited circumstantial evidence against him.

The BJP, however, defended the Prime Minister, stressing that the RSS’ century-long record of “social work, disaster relief, and nation-building” was a source of national pride. Party spokespersons said past Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had also praised Savarkar and dismissed the criticism as politically motivated.