Chennai, Nov 1 (IANS) The BJP has launched a counterattack against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his recent remarks urging a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), asserting that the Sangh is not a problem but a solution to many of the issues plaguing society.

Terming the statement a “reckless political outburst,” Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad said that Kharge owed an “unconditional apology” to millions of Swayamsevaks who have “devoted” their lives to national service.

The party leader accused the Congress of “rewriting history and betraying B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution” while branding the RSS as “the moral backbone of Bharat.”

“If anyone has undermined democracy and constitutional values, it is Congress – from Indira Gandhi’s Emergency to the dynasty-driven politics of today,” the statement said.

Citing historical incidents, the BJP spokesperson recalled the Emergency of 1975-77, the 39th and 42nd Constitution Amendments, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and major corruption scandals under the UPA as evidence of the Congress’s “habitual abuse of power.”

He also blamed the Nehru government’s “failed forward policy” for India’s 1962 defeat by China and alleged that the Congress “nurtured separatism in Kashmir” through Article 370.

Referring to Kharge’s criticism linking the RSS to law-and-order issues, Prasad said that official NCRB data show overall IPC crimes fell 4.5 per cent in 2023.

“The RSS is not the problem; it is the solution – a disciplined, service-oriented force that has stood with citizens in every calamity from Partition to Covid-19,” he said.

The statement cited RSS relief work during Partition, natural disasters, and the pandemic, calling it “the world’s largest volunteer movement” with more than five million members and thousands of social projects.

The BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad also invoked Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 1948 letter acknowledging RSS service to Hindu society after Partition, insisting that Kharge had “distorted history to malign a patriotic organisation.”

Concluding the rebuttal, the ANS Prasad declared that Kharge and Rahul Gandhi must introspect instead of vilifying patriots.

“The Congress has lost its moral compass. India marches ahead under Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat, guided by the values of Patel and Ambedkar,” he claimed.

–IANS

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