JAIPUR: Even as the cold wave intensifies, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has ignited a hot debate in Rajasthan through his scathing criticism of the RSS. In a signed piece in a local daily on December 30, Gehlot had alleged that though the RSS claims to be a ‘cultural organisation’ it is deeply involved in politics and he dared the RSS to come out in the open and convert itself into a political party. The RSS is acting like an extra-constitutional authority, according to Gehlot, and no one can become a Minister, Chief Minister or Prime Minister, without their approval.
Gehlot reminded his readers that Sardar Patel had banned the RSS after charges of RSS involvement in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. The CM remarked that though the ban got revoked after RSS promised to be just a ‘cultural organisation’, it’s now an open secret that the RSS plays an active role in politics.In a sharp counter, state BJP president Satish Poonia said that Gehlot is suffering from “short-term memory loss” and “mental depression”.
In a press release, he claimed that the CM is left with no work other than chanting the names of RSS, PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.Meanwhile, Archana Sharma, chief spokesperson for the Congress hit out at Poonia. “BJP leaders in Rajasthan have only two things to do these days. Either they go around making sycophantic noises about Narendra Modi and Amit Shah or they go around singing praises for RSS.”