Congress Seva Dal press note praising RSS triggers controversy in poll-bound MP
BHOPAL: Yet another political controversy has hit the assembly polls bound Madhya Pradesh - this time in form of an alleged press release of Congress Seva Dal, in which the organisational discipline of BJP's parent outfit Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has been praised.
Accusing the ruling BJP and its parent body RSS for tampering the original press note of Congress Seva Dal, the opposition Congress has decided to lodge a criminal complaint with the police in the matter.
The concerned press note which went viral over social media on Sunday mentions about both Congress Seva Dal and the RSS being well known for organisational discipline like the military discipline.
It further mentions about RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar having been associated with the Congress before founding the RSS in 1925.
The press note further praises Dr Hedgewar for leading committed RSS cadres to protest in Nagpur the Simon Commission's arrival in India in 1928.
The press note pertains to Chintan Shivir (national brainstorming camp) of the Congress Seva Dal slated to be held in Gwalior-Chambal region of MP from August 27 to August 31.
The opposition Congress, meanwhile, has taken strong exception to the development, making it clear that the alleged press note praising the RSS and its founder was never released by the party or its Seva Dal organisation.
"Close scrutiny of the original Seva Dal press note pertaining to the national brainstorming camp and the alleged press note praising the RSS clearly reveals that the original press note has been tampered to defame the Congress and trigger a political controversy," said MP Congress' media section vice chairman Bhupendra Gupta.
"A close scrutiny of press note reveals that it contains words like Pitra and Paitrik Sangathan that are used by RSS and BJP ranks and not us. The original press note of Sewa Dal has been tampered by ruling party people only. We are going to lodge a criminal complaint with the police in the matter," said Gupta.
The development comes three weeks after, Congress national general secretary in-charge for MP, Deepak Babaria had during a Congress program in Vidisha district exhorted the party workers to learn discipline from the RSS.
Babaria's comments which triggered political controversy in the state were prompted due to an altercation between different factions of Congress on the stage of the program where those seated included Babaria himself.