BSP slams RSS over Mohan Bhagwat’s comment on army

Lucknow, Feb 13 (IANS) The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Tuesday condemned a statement of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat that they were ready, before the Indian Army, to take on Pakistan if the need arises.

In a statement, party supremo Mayawati said the statement was not only an insult to the country’s armed forces but also reflected the ‘militant swayam sevaks’ that RSS nurtured.

"If the RSS is so confident of its cadres, why has Mohan Bhagwat and its other senior functionaries taken the protection of NSG and police commandos" the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister asked.

She further said it was shameful that the RSS chief had tried to run down the armed forces at a speech in Muzaffarpur in Bihar recently.

"The statement will dampen the spirits and morale of the Indian Army," she said.

The BSP supremo also sought an unqualified apology from the RSS chief.

The Dalit leader said the RSS should also come out of the belief that it was a social organisation as it was, through its activities, fast turning into a political entity.

"You are no more a social organisation but one which all the time is engaged in political activities and are trying to help in all possible ways the BJP in electoral politics," Mayawati added.