In Sangh, individuals are given a job whether they want it or not, and even if one is 80 years old, if asked to do a job, they will do it: RSS chief
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that the Sangh did not take decisions on internal matters of its affiliated organisations (like BJP) and that they were free and self-dependent to execute and manage their affairs. Answering questions about relation with its political arm—the BJP—and the perceptions that the Sangh decides everything related to its organisations, Bhagwat said “to say that RSS decides everything is completely wrong… Had we been deciding, would it have taken this long?” He was responding to a question regarding delay in the selection of a new BJP president.
Responding to questions on the last day of his three-day lecture series in Vigyan Bhawan at Delhi, Bhagwat said that the perception of the RSS deciding “everything” for the BJP is “completely wrong”. As a message to the BJP, he said “take your time. We have nothing to say.”
He also spoke about the oft-question regarding an unsaid rule that BJP leaders would retire from active politics once they are 75 years old. Bhagwat said that he never said that either him or anyone else should retire. In Sangh, individuals are given a job whether they want it or not, and even if one is 80 years old, if asked to do a job, they will do it, he added.
“…I never said I will retire or that someone should retire. In Sangh, we are given a job, whether we want it or not. If I am 80 years old, and the Sangh says go and run a ‘shakha,’ I will have to do it. We do whatever the Sangh tells us to do… This is not about anyone’s retirement. We are ready to retire or work as long as the Sangh wants us to,” he said, setting at rest speculations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may retire from his post after his 75th birthday in September 2025
Bhagwat, incidentally. will turn 75 days before PM Modi.
Bhagwat said that the RSS has good coordination with all governments at the centre and states, but systems sometimes have internal contradictions. Even if the person in the chair is 100 per cent with us, he may have hurdles. “So, we have to give him independence. There is no quarrel anywhere…but being on the same page on all issues is not possible; we always trust each other,” he said.
“We can have differences of opinion, but we never have differences of heart,” he said, dismissing talks of tensions with BJP. The Sangh and its organisations were guided by the policy of “nation first”.
“Differences stem from ideologies. We can have some differences in opinion, but no differences in intent,” he said.
Bhagwat also said that the RSS ‘does not tell’ the government how to deal with US President Donald Trump.
