Ayodhya Ram Temple not RSS achievement, but society’s :Hosabale
Bengaluru, mar 23 :
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Sunday said that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was not an achievement of the right-wing organisation but rather a victory of society as a whole. He also issued a warning about the dangers of those who have an “invader mindset”, describing them as a major threat to the unity and security of the country.
“The RSS shows a big heart even though its workers lost their lives at the hands of Mulayam Singh Yadav, and they lost government in four states due to the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement,” Hosabale said. “But,
Ayodhya Ram
Ram temple in Ayodhya is not an RSS achievement but society’s,” he said.
Hosabale was speaking to reporters at a three-day Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highest decision-making body of the RSS, here in Karnataka.
Amid the controversy around the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the RSS general secretary expressed a strong view, saying, “People with an invader mindset are a threat to India. We should stand with those who are with the Indian ethos.”
“Are we going to iconise someone who was against the ethos of India, or are we going to go with those who worked according to the traditions of this land?” he questioned.
“… There have been a lot of incidents in the past. There was an ‘Aurangzeb Road’ in Delhi, which was renamed Abdul Kalam Road. There was some reason behind it. Aurangzeb’s brother, Dara Shikoh, was not made a hero. Those who advocate the Ganga-Jamuni culture never thought of bringing Dara Shikoh forward,” Hosabale said.
“If the freedom fighting is done against Britishers, then it is a freedom fight. The fight against those who were before them (Britishers) was also a freedom movement,” he said. “What Maharana Pratap did was fight for freedom. If there are people with an invader mentality, then they are a danger to the country… We have to decide whom we are going to associate with the ethos of our country… It is not about religion… This is RSS’s firm view…,” he said.
He further said that religious-based reservations go against the architect of our Constitution, B. R. Ambedkar. There is debate going on over the Karnataka government’s decision to provide a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts.
He claimed that the RSS keeps political interference to a minimum, as it never sought to place its members in key government positions. “We never pushed for the appointment of Sangh functionaries as PAs of ministers during BJP rule in Karnataka,” he said.
Amid the ongoing debate over the Karnataka government’s decision to provide a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Sunday asserted that the Constitution does not allow religion-based quota.
He also said such reservations go against the architect of our Constitution, B R Ambedkar.
Addressing reporters here on the concluding day of Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highest decision making body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hosabale said, “Religion-based reservation is not accepted in the Constitution authored by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Anybody doing it is going against the architect of our Constitution.” He also pointed out that previous attempts by United Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to introduce religion-based reservations for Muslims were set aside by the High Courts and Supreme Court.
Hosabale emphasised that the courts have rejected provisions for such quota.
Responding to a query about the controversy over 17th century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s grave in Maharashtra, Hosabale remarked that Aurangzeb was made an icon and not his brother Dara Shikoh, who believed in social harmony, .
People who went against the ethos of India were made icons, the senior RSS leader added.
