A picture of burning “khaki shorts” posted by the Congress in social media on Monday evoked the ire of the RSS and the BJP which accused it of “connecting” with people through “hatred” and claimed that the depiction was “instigation for violence” across the country.
The Opposition party hit back saying both the RSS and the BJP are not “ready for aggressive responses from the Congress” and “if they will be aggressive, we will be double aggressive”.
The sharp verbal exchanges were triggered following Congress tweeting a picture of a burning khaki shorts — a part of the RSS uniform earlier —saying “to free the country from shackles of hate and undo the damage done by
BJP-RSS. Step by step, we will reach our goal. 145 days more to go”, inferring the party’s ongoing “Bharat Jodo Yatra”.
The yatra, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with a stated aim to “revive” the party is in progress in Kerala.
Responding to the tweet, RSS joint general secretary Manmohan Vaidya said the Congress wants to connect people through “hatred” and asserted that the party’s earlier generations too harboured hatred and contempt for the Sangh.
Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the three-day coordination meeting of the RSS, Vaidya claimed there was a “growing support” for Hindutva in the society.
“They (Congress) want to connect people through hatred. Can you unite India through hatred? They have harboured hatred and contempt for us for a long time. Their earlier generations (baap-dada) too tried to stop the RSS but we kept growing as we were supported by the people,” he said at the Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak of the RSS which was attended by Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, its general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and BJP president J P Nadda among other leaders.
In a simultaneous and strong retort, BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra dubbed the picture in the social media as an “instigation for violence” and lashed out at the Congress for its “promotion of violence” .
The BJP said the Congress yatra is “Bharat Todo Yatra” for which the Opposition party and its leader Rahul was well-known and quoted his controversial comments in the past.
Noting that many members of the RSS, the Hindutva organisation considered the BJP’s ideological mentor, have been killed in Kerala where the Congress yatra is going on presently, Patra alleged that the Opposition party has signalled to “terrorists” in the southern State to target their functionaries.
Patra asked the Congress to immediately take down the post, saying there is no room for violence in India’s Constitutional scheme of things.
Hitting out at the Congress, he said the party has had an old association with “fire” and wondered “why Rahul loves fire so much?”, pointing to his past comment that kerosene has been sprinkled across the country (by the present Government) and only a match-box is required.
Patra said Punjab was put on fire when the party was in power and Sikhs were burnt alive during the 1984 riots.
Giving back to the BJP and the RSS in an equal measure, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh hit out at both, saying that they spread hate and rumours. “BJP ki rajneeti todne ki hai, jodne ki nahi (BJP’s politics is divisive not of uniting),” Ramesh said.
At a press conference, he said that he won’t speak on “t-shirt, underwear and vests”, referring to the BJP’s dig on a t-shirt Rahul Gandhi had recently worn.
“This Bharat Jodo Yatra is about inflation and unemployment, if they want to make issues out of containers, shoes and t-shirts, it shows they are afraid. They say anything, jhooth ki factory overtime chal rahi hai (factory of lies is working overtime),” Ramesh said.
Responding to a question on attack and counter attacks between the BJP and the Congress, Ramesh said the RSS and the BJP are not ready for aggressive responses from the Congress.
“If they will be aggressive, then we will be double aggressive. But the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to unite people,” he added.
