Congress seeks probe into RSS overseas network and funding
New Delhi: The Congress has questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s pitch for Hindu-Muslim unity in the United States, asking whether the RSS changes its language with the audience and demanding scrutiny of the organisation’s overseas network and funding.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Congress leader Rashid Alvi asked why such remarks were made abroad if there was “no problem” between Hindus and Muslims in India.
“The first question is: why is there a need to go to America to say this? If there is no issue between Hindus and Muslims within India, then what is the sudden need to go there and speak about it? This implies that a problem does exist,” Alvi said. He further accused the RSS of being “anti-Muslim” in India and questioned whether Bhagwat was unaware of controversial statements made against Muslims by political leaders in the country.
Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge pointed to what he called a “transformation in the RSS’s language” outside India.
“For 100 years, this unregistered organisation has propagated and continues to propagate the idea of a Hindu Rashtra in India. Yet, in America, Mohan Bhagwat says: ‘If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu’… Quite a transformation in language when the audience changes,” Priyank said. Kharge also sought scrutiny of the RSS’s overseas affiliates, including the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD), and of its diaspora mobilisation efforts.
“Why does the language of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ at home become the language of inclusivity and interfaith harmony abroad?” he asked. Alleging that a packaged message of “Universal Oneness” masked deeper questions about the RSS ecosystem, he called for transparency on finances.
“Follow the network. Follow the fundraising. Follow the money. This is why this organisation needs to be registered,” he said. The Congress remarks came as Bhagwat addressed nearly 5,000 people in New York as part of the RSS centenary-year global outreach, which will also cover Canada and the UK.
