Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the Rashtriya Swayasevak Sangh (RSS). According to Rahul, it’s a misnomer to call the RSS and its associated groups 'Sangh Parivar' (united family).
"I believe that RSS and its related organisations shouldn't be called Sangh Parivar - a family has women, respect for elders, and feelings of compassion and love - which aren't there in RSS. I won't call the RSS Sangh Parivar," said a translation of the Congress leader’s tweet in Hindi.
Rahul Gandhi's remarks comes a day after he said the alleged harassment of nuns belonging to a Kerala-based congregation in Uttar Pradesh was a result of the Sangh Parivar's "vicious propaganda" to pitch one community against another and trample on minorities.
Meanwhile, Rahul, who has often been accused of nurturing a soft corner for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, said that the latter has transformed himself into the RSS-BJP mould. The Congress leader attacked the ruling alliance in Bihar over the ruckus in the state Assembly over the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021, stating that the visuals from the House of MLAs belonging to Opposition parties being thrashed and lathi-charged inside Bihar Assembly made it clear that Nitish Kumar has become 'one of RSS-BJP'.
"It is clear from the embarrassing Vidhan Sabha that the Chief Minister has become completely RSS / BJP-fied (RSS-BJPmay)... Those who defy democracy have no right to be called government. The opposition will still raise voice in the public interest - we are not afraid!" Rahul said in a tweet in Hindi.
Tuesday’s incident shocked many political parties as they issued a joint statement condemning the police brutality which they described as an “unprecedented attack on India’s democracy”.
In a joint statement issued by opposition parties in New Delhi, including the Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, DMK, RJD, TMC, TRS, and AAP, the leaders said that the government forcibly evicted opposition legislators from the assembly in place of listening to their grievances. The statement said: “The BJP-JDU government in Bihar has pushed through the draconian Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, that confers unbridled powers upon Bihar Military Police to conduct raids and arrests without warrants. This is an unconstitutional bill that effectively transforms the police force into an armed militia to harass, suppress and crack down on academics, activists, journalists, the political opposition and all those who dare to speak truth to power. It is an insidious conspiracy to enforce a Police Raj in Bihar and portends what the BJP intends to do throughout India employing the sheer tyranny of power.”
It added: “Given this bill blatantly violates the rule of law and undermines human rights, Opposition MLAs from the RJD, Congress and other progressive parties raised their voices unitedly on the floor of the House. Rather than addressing their legitimate pro-people concerns, these MLAs were ruthlessly beaten and forcefully ejected from the Assembly. In doing this, the BJP and JDU have not only sought to throttle the voices of peoples’ representatives, but also assaulted constitutional principles. We unequivocally condemn this unprecedented attack on India’s democracy, and urge every Indian to stand by democratic principles.”
