No one is a stranger to Rahul Gandhi and his paranoia about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an influential corps of volunteers and the backbone of the incumbent party in Central Government, Bhartiya Janata Party. From equating the body with dreaded ISIS, to baselessly blaming the RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, there is no allegation that the incumbent Congress President hasn’t levied on this organization.
Quite recently, he even equated the existence of the organization with the shady Egyptian organization Muslim Brotherhood, responsible for the 2011 Arab Spring, in an attempt to corner their agenda. However, in a literal bolt from the blue, the organization has decided to give it back to Rahul Gandhi in style.
According to Arun Kumar, a senior RSS leader, a series of lectures shall be held at Vigyan Bhawan on September 17 and 19, presided by RSS President [Sarsanghchalak] Shri Mohan Bhagwat, who would talk on ‘Future of India : An RSS Perspective’, which would be attended by delegates from all walks of life.
Though tight lipped on the official confirmation, Shri Arun Kumar has asserted that, ‘….It is our prerogative to choose who to invite or not. Leave this to us… But people from all walks of life, including from different political outfits, ideologies and religions, will be invited.’
This is not the first time RSS has attempted to establish cordial relations with the opposition. While Lal Bahadur Shastri’ tacit support to this organization may not be that well known, the recent invitation to ex-President Pranab Mukherjee to the RSS headquarters is absolutely popular and reflects the openness that RSS has for non-Sangh members. Not only did Pranab da attend the event, he also praised the founders of this organization for their selfless service towards their motherland, a statement that did not go down too well with the top brass of the party.
However, with their recent invitation to Rahul Gandhi, it seems that the RSS has delivered a fantastic slap shot, from which the ‘defenders and goalkeepers of secularism’ can hardly recover. Apart from the pun, it’s a catch 22 situation for the Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi.
No matter how much contempt he has for the organization, if Rahul Gandhi refuses to accept this invitation, his credibility will take a beating, for the perceived opinion will be such that Rahul Gandhi is apparently ‘intolerant of any other political narrative’. In that situation, the entire façade of intolerance that the Congress had craftily built around BJP and RSS would come hurtling down and 2019 elections would be a cakewalk for BJP led NDA.
However, if by chance Rahul Gandhi accepts the invitation, the situation is going to be no better for him either. If Rahul Gandhi accepts the invitation, his move shall be seen as a poor PR exercise, since the ‘prince of the chamber of secularism’ would apparently be seated in the very ‘citadel of communalism’ he abhors since time immemorial. That is something that the so called Mahagathbandhan won’t be able to digest easily.