14

Jun

Mr Mohan Bhagwat, you Have  spoken too late !

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Syed Khalique Ahmed

New Delhi, 14 June 2024

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s reaction to the kind of language used by politicians during the just concluded Lok Sabha elections is very encouraging but it has come too late which has made it lose its relevance. However, reacting late is better than not reacting at all.

His comments came while addressing a training programme for RSS workers at Nagpur on Monday. In a significant remark he said that a true “sevak” is never arrogant and that decorum was not maintained in the elections.

However, his speech in the Hindi language did not make it clear whom he called arrogant and who did not maintain the decorum during the polls. Had he said the same thing even without identifying the person who exhibited his arrogance during the campaigning for the polls, it could have perhaps made star campaigners of the BJP restrain themselves from using the foul language they did to polarise the voters for political gains.

Article at a Glance

 

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent comments on the use of foul language by politicians during the Lok Sabha elections are encouraging, but they came too late and lacked specificity.

 Bhagwat emphasized the importance of decorum and humility in politics, but his remarks did not identify the politicians who used divisive language. The article suggests that Bhagwat's silence during the elections, particularly regarding Prime Minister Modi's provocative comments about Muslims, was conspicuous and damaging to the RSS's reputation as a conscience-keeper.

The article argues that Bhagwat's belated comments may be seen as a face-saving strategy and that he should have spoken out against hate speech during the elections to maintain the RSS's credibility.

National and international media widely covered the unpleasant comments of Modi, who took charge of PM for the third consecutive term, about Muslims during the election. He called Muslims “infiltrators” and identified them as having “too many children”, a language used to stigmatize Muslims. He also accused the Congress party of planning to redistribute the wealth of Hindus among Muslims if the Congress party acquired power after the elections though PM Modi has no evidence to support his allegations.

He went to the extent of saying that the Congress party would snatch gold and “mangalsutra” of Hindu women and private homes of people. The statement was highly provocative because the mangalsutra, which is tied by the bridegroom around the neck of his bride, is considered very auspicious. It had the potential to cause violence.

Modi also commented during his political rallies that the Ram temple would be demolished if Congress and the Samajwadi Party came to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. All these statements could engineer violence. Surprisingly, neither the Election Commission of India, an ombudsman for elections, nor the Sangh Parivar headed by Mohan Bhagwat said to be the conscience-keeper of its “sevaks” and RSS members, did condemn it or ask the politicians to refrain from making such comments.

Political analysts say that PM Modi used this as a strategy to further exacerbate divisions between Hindus and Muslims to polarize Hindus in favor of his party and get their votes.

Since BJP is considered a political arm of the BJP and almost all BJP MPs, including PM Modi, are members of the RSS, a word from Mohan Bhagwat asking Modi not to stoop too low for political gains, would certainly have held back Modi from making similar speeches in future. As RSS and Bhagwat, who are also considered the conscience-keepers of the BJP, did not utter a word against the language of hate used by Modi and other BJP leaders, what kind of inference should people draw from it? Does the silence of Mohan Bhagwat when he was required to speak suggest that RSS believes in the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means no matter whether the means adopted to achieve the end are good or bad?

Had the RSS supremo spoken out against the hate campaign of BJP leaders during elections, it would have raised his status and earned the praise of citizens from across religious groups. But giving long sermons after the damage has been done, has no significance. Shall people consider his reactions now as a face-saving strategy for the RSS as it is losing its reputation as a conscience-keeper, at least, for the BJP leaders feeling proud of being part of the RSS? Others also seem to lose respect for the RSS for its continued silence on the horrible and disgusting language used by BJP leaders during the election campaign.

In his speech, he said that opposition leaders should also maintain decorum, perhaps to equate Opposition with BJP leaders having spoken detestable language. He is correct that no property and its leader should indulge in breaking the decorum. But as the famous saying that “charity begins at home” goes, Bhagwat should first try to chastise those close to his organization before criticizing others.

Bhagwat maintained silence deliberately or non-deliberately during the elections, people have spoken out and trounced the arrogance of leaders under their feet, humiliating the BJP and its leaders. Even the people of Ayodhya understood the false propaganda of the ruling party and defeated the BJP candidate, by supporting a candidate of the Samajwadi Party who happens to be a Dalit.

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