RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that even if the BJP and the RSS have difference of opinion, their objectives are still the same. He was also asked point-blank if it is the RSS that chooses the president and dictates the strategic course to the ruling party.
“This is a completely wrong notion. It cannot happen,” was the first bit of his response as he replied to the pre-submitted question at a press conference.
Then he reasoned: “I have been running a shakha for 50 years now, so if someone gives me advice about that, I am the expert there. When it comes to running the State, they have been doing it for long, so they are the expert.” Suggestions can be given, he added, “but the decision in their field is theirs, and ours in our field.”
After this, he took a pause before adding, “If we were deciding, would it have taken so long?”, and broke into a smile as the audience clapped and laughed.
The present BJP leader, Jagat Prakash Nadda, completed his term two years ago and has been on extension ever since. Nadda also serves as a minister in PM Narendra Modi's cabinet.
“We don't decide. We don't want to decide. Take your time!” the RSS chief further said on the subject, asking the event coordinator to “move on to the next thing”.
Speculation persists regarding BJP president's post being taken up by someone, especially after union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met recently with Mohan Bhagwat, but no conclusive details have emerged.
Earlier in July, speculations also picked up pace following the naming of unit chiefs in six states and Union Territories by the party, with some speculating that the post of leadership could be given to a woman for the first time.
Names such as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Andhra Pradesh leader D. Purandeswari have come forward, along with Vanathi Srinivasan, head of the BJP women's wing and another top leader from south India.
Of the RSS's role in the BJP and its parent organization, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, senior leaders on both sides have said that although the RSS provides ideological leadership as the chief of the Sangh Parivar—a family of linked organizations—it has no say in the party's daily affairs.
At his press conference as part of events to mark the centenary year of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat touched upon this: “We help whoever seeks help for good work. You see only one party. But our cadres do help even in party work when directed by the Sangh.”
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