RSS event updates: Mohan Bhagwat says Sangh has no influence on government's policies

RSS event latest updates: The RSS chief claimed that the organisation did not influence government’s policies at all. Mohan Bhagwat said that the Constitution was the consensus of the country. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday began the second leg of his three-day lecture series at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan, where the organisation is holding a conclave titled “Future of Bharat: An RSS Perspective”. With the central theme of ‘Hindutva’, the RSS aims to allay apprehensions about the group’s ideology through this event. [caption id=“attachment_5201801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the RSS conclave in Delhi. Image courtesy: Screengrab from YouTube[/caption] On day one of the conclave, which saw politicians, actors, artistes and other known personalities in attendance, Bhagwat explained that the RSS does not seek domination and is indifferent towards who comes to power. He is expected to speak on the RSS’ perspective on various issues of national importance on Tuesday, including the Ayodhya disoute. In his near 80-minute-long speech on the first day of the conclave, Bhagwat asserted that the RSS is the “most democratic” organisation and is not dictatorial. He insisted that it neither imposes its ideology nor remote-controls its various affiliates, rejecting criticism that it controls the BJP. Nearly all major Opposition parties gave the “Bhavishya Ka Bharat: An RSS Perspective” conclave, though the RSS had invited them. Several Opposition leaders, including many from the Congress, said they did not get an invite and would not have attended the conclave even if they did. They alleged that the conclave was a “pre-election agenda” to project that the outfit is “neither untouchable nor hated”. “The Sangh is the most democratic organisation. We run by consensus. Here, every worker can express his views. There are no restrictions… We have started our work to make a certain kind of people and society and we do not want anything else,” he said. “People often believe that the RSS is a dictatorial organisation and that one man decides everything… If you want to see the most open organisation, then you should come to the Sangh. There is no restriction. An RSS worker conducts himself in line with the values given to him by organisation.” The mega outreach programme comes at a time when the Congress-led Opposition has been ramping up attacks on the RSS, accusing it of promoting a divisive ideology and attacking minority communities. It is interesting that the 68-year-old RSS chief talked about various ideologies that worked together during the freedom movement and acknowledged the role of the Congress, even though it is among the organisation’s biggest critics.