RSS criticises Hamid Ansari for remarks on religion, calls him 'communal Muslim leader'

The RSS has criticised Vice-President Hamid Ansari for his talk at the inauguration of the All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat Golden Jubilee. In the latest issue of the Sangh’s mouthpiece Panchjanya, RSS-affiliated journalist Satish Pednekar has accused Ansari of speaking as a “communal Muslim leader", according to a report in  The Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_2434104” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Hamid Ansari. Reuters[/caption] At the event, Ansari had said that  had spoken about the problems Indian Muslims face and said that affirmative action was a pre-requisite for their development. He had further said that studies bring forth sufficient evidence to substantiate the view that “inequality traps prevent the marginalised and work in favour of the dominant groups in society”. Ansari’s remarks were criticised by the RSS with Pednekar saying that India has given Muslims several advantages such as the right to run minority educational institutions and Haj subsidy, continued the report. The Indian Express  quoted the article which said, “Did he (Ansari) want to convey that Muslims face a threat from the majority community? He perhaps hinted about riots. But they are mostly started by the minority community. When the majority community reacts to it, it is made the issue of Muslim safety.”  The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had criticised Ansari’s remarks as well alleging it was a “political” and “communal” statement which did not befit the dignity of his office. “With due respect to the Vice President’s chair, VHP condemns this rank communal statement. This is a political statement…. which does not befit the office of a Vice President,” VHP Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said. This is not the first time that the vice-president has faced criticism from right-wing factions. Back in June, he was conspicuous by his absence at the grand events organised to celebrate the first International Yoga Day and BJP general secretary and former RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav publicly questioned this  on Twitter. The tweets and ensuing speculation about his health on social media lead to Ansari clarifying  his stand that he did not attend the function in Delhi as he was not invited. However, Madhav’s tweets snowballed into a controversy that lead both him and the government apologising to the vice-president. Madhav deleted his tweets and even met Ansari to clear the air. Earlier this year, Ansari was criticised on social media for not saluting the national flag on Republic Day. As t his Firstpost article pointed out, Rajnath Singh and  Sushma Swaraj didn’t salute the flag either, but their patriotism was not questioned. Nor were they called ‘Jihadi sympathiser", “anti-India”, “traitor"on Twitter.  While Ansari’s office issued a clarification that it wasn’t part of protocol to salute, it didn’t take away the fact that there was a clear discrimination, possibly motivated by Ansari’s religion. Ansari’s office has responded to these latest comments as yet. (With agency inputs)