KOLKATA: West Bengals' political parties on Monday flayed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his controversial comments on the Indian Army's preparedness for a war and asked him to join the army if possible.
Terming Bhagwat's comment as "anti-national and demeaning", CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty demanded his arrest.
"This is an anti-national comment. He has demeaned the India army with his comment. Mohan Bhagwat should be arrested," he said.
Coming down heavily on the RSS chief, state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said he should stop lecturing and dared him and RSS activists to take the place of the army.
"If they really have the ability, let them go to the border and stand in place of the army. 42,000 positions are empty in the Indian Army let them join. Just giving lectures in rallies and television will not serve any purpose," he said.
However, in an attempt to defend Bhagwat, the state Bharatiya Janata Party said he did not compare RSS with the Indian army but referred to the extent of their preparedness and patriotism for the country.
"What he meant was the RSS activists would be prepared first in case of a calamity. They are disciplined and patriotic. They follow a rigorous training routine everyday so they would easily prepared," argued state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
Bhagwat's statement in a gathering in Muzaffarpur on Sunday courted massive controversy, as he claimed that in case of a war, the Indian Army would take six months to prepare whereas RSS volunteers can get prepared in three days to fight on the borders against the enemy.