The Hypocrisy and Opportunism of the RSS’s ‘Outreach’ to Muslims – By Sanjiv Krishan Sood
Last week, the Indian Express published two news stories side by side. The headline of the first one quotes Suraj Pal Singh Amu, the Haryana BJP spokesperson and Karni Sena chief as saying: “If you want to make history, Taimur, Aurangjeb, Babur won’t be born.” The other headline was in total contrast to what Amu says. It quotes Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, as saying: “If a Hindu says that no Muslim should live here, that person is not Hindu.”…
The sarsangchalak, therefore, has perhaps realised that in order to retain power in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will need votes from all communities. The landslide victories of 2014, 2017 and 2019 are no longer guaranteed. With large states like West Bengal, Maharashtra and Rajasthan having been lost to opposition, the loss of Uttar Pradesh will sound a death knell for Hindutva protagonists. Hence the outreach.
The outreach by Mohan Bhagwat even though welcome is unlikely to have any effect on ground as the foot soldiers of the BJP and the RSS are too full of hatred towards Muslims. His statement is aimed only at addressing political concerns and does not reflect change of heart or deviation from communal ideology.
