The news came from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh meeting in Mathura, in which Rahul Gandhi was specifically mentioned. The incident itself is strange as Rahul Gandhi keeps taking aggressive stances against the Sangh.
Rahul Gandhi is also facing trial in a defamation case related to the RSS. The case is pending before the Bhiwandi Court in Maharashtra. A case was filed against Rahul Gandhi on behalf of RSS workers under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code for accusing the RSS of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi in 2014.
Rahul Gandhi said he had an ideological battle with the Sangh and the BJP and he did not even think the country’s regional parties were capable of doing the job as he felt regional parties like the Congress did not have any awareness form.
In this context, it is increasingly difficult to understand why Rahul Gandhi, the Sangh’s Sakariyava Dattatreya Hosabale, felt He should meet Congress leaders. Even though they say the Sangh keeps meeting everyone. Although former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was also said to have been in contact with RSS leaders, it seems from Rahul Gandhi’s stand that he would not agree to meet RSS people at all.
In June 2018, at the invitation of the Sangh, former President Mukherjee went to Nagpur to attend an event. Before Pranab Mukherjee left for Nagpur, there was a huge reaction from Congress leaders. Even his daughter Samitha Mukherjee is unhappy about this.
Did Dattatreya Hosabale receive any special signal? Or was the Sanger just rolling the dice for Congress?
Why did the Sangh want to meet Rahul Gandhi?
During a Q&A with the media after the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh meeting in Mathura, Dattatreya Hosabarai said of Rahul Gandhi: “You want to run a business of love in the market of hate. store but don’t want to meet….we want to meet everyone.
But Rahul Gandhi does not agree with such a thing at all. He often said, “Even if you cut my throat, I can never go to the RSS office.”
This came to light when Dattatreya Hosabale was asked about reports of differences between the Sangh and the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Dattatreya Hosabale said: “We meet leaders of every political party…every industrialist, every leader of different communities…We have no tension with anyone, neither the people of India” Be it party leaders, Congress or some other organization, there should be someone representing…” I don’t want to name names here because that would make a different story.
Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi is said in many places to have links with Sangh leaders. The relationship between the Sangh and Indira Gandhi was specifically mentioned in veteran journalist Neerja Chaudhary’s book “How the Prime Minister Decides”.
The book claims that Indira Gandhi had good relations with many of the Sangh leaders, but both privately maintained a certain distance. The book also states that Sangh leaders sought help from Indira Gandhi and in return the former Prime Minister exploited the relationship at her convenience – a cordial relationship that remained even during the Emergency.
Neerja Chaudhary writes: “The then Sangh chief Balasaheb Deoras wrote to him several times… Some Sangh leaders also wrote to him through Khad. Kapil Mohan contacted Sanjay Gandhi.
Fearing dissatisfaction with the Congress among the Muslim community, Indira Gandhi wanted to add a Hindu overtone to her politics. She also cautioned that Sanger’s tacit support or neutrality might also help.
Rahul Gandhi’s stance differs from Indira’s
Rahul Gandhi and Indira Gandhi had completely different views on the Sangh, which was also due to their different political stances. It was Indira Gandhi who was in power at that time and Rahul Gandhi was constantly fighting for power. During the time of Indira Gandhi, Hindus lacked strong leadership. In this situation, Indira also wanted to make inroads among Hindus through the Sangh. She was largely successful. However, Rahul Gandhi got the leadership of the Congress party at a time when the Hindus had strong leadership like the Bharatiya Janata Party (especially Modi).
Rahul has no hope of united Hindus and hopes to appeal to Muslims and those who avoid using the terms “Hindu” and “Hindu-ness”. That is, their focus was on those Hindus who wanted to exclude themselves from the Sangh and the Sangh’s definition of Hinduism.
While Indira Gandhi wanted to connect with Hindus through the Sangh, Rahul wanted to transcend the Sangh. Rahul Gandhi’s views on the Sangh may change once he comes to power, but that seems unlikely at the moment – and he doesn’t seem to want to meet Sangh leaders either.
That may be true on the surface, but if the situation is caused internally, that’s a different matter. Rahul Gandhi may talk about opening a love shop in his speeches, but his venom on the Sangh issue will continue.
