Last Updated:January 15, 2025, 11:46 IST

The RSS chief has repeatedly invoked the former President’s views on secularism and cultural identity to drive home the ideological and ‘nationalistic’ points on pluralism and conversion

Over the years, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has time and again turned to former President Pranab Mukherjee’s legacy while presenting the organisation’s stance on religious conversions and the idea of secularism. In a recent speech in Indore on Monday, Bhagwat, quoting Mukherjee, said without ‘Ghar Wapsi’, tribal communities could turn ‘Desh Drohi’ (anti-national).

Bhagwat had earlier too cited Mukherjee’s belief that India’s secularism is deeply embedded in its 5,000-year-old tradition. This invocation of Mukherjee’s words, both on secularism and cultural identity, is part of Bhagwat’s ongoing effort to align the RSS’s narrative with the nation’s constitutional principles, positioning conversion as a threat to India’s unity and pluralism.

The RSS chief has repeatedly invoked the former President’s views on secularism and cultural identity to drive home the ideological and ‘nationalistic’ points on pluralism and conversion.

A deep bond

In 2023, three years after Mukherjee’s passing, Bhagwat recalled a meeting with the former President, then ailing, where Mukherjee asserted that the world need not lecture India on secularism or pluralism, as these values are deeply ingrained in its 5,000-year-old tradition. He mentioned that he requested a 10-minute meeting with Mukherjee while the controversy around conversion was going on and the debates were continuing in Parliament.

Most recently, the RSS chief yet again referred to Mukherjee while discussing the contentious issue of conversion, highlighting that Mukherjee believed cultural identity and constitutional principles are intertwined. He said he was asked by Mukherjee what happened to a tribal who converted, to which Bhagwat replied —“They become Christians”. Mukherjee, as quoted by Bhagwat, said — “No, they become desh-drohi (anti national)”.

Bhagwat then elaborated how religious conversion, which the RSS terms as ‘illegal and forceful’ among the tribal population, is being achieved through luring or intimidation. He further added that the organisation has no issue with legal conversion and it does not matter if the ways of worship change. But, he emphasised that the conversion achieved through ‘threats, intimidation or luring’ makes the tribals move out of their roots.

Mukherjee’s legacy as a ‘bridge’ across divides

Conversion among the tribal population has always been a point of concern and contention for the RSS, which has been working towards Ghar Wapsi (reverse conversion) in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and in some other states.

By quoting the late Congress stalwart, Bhagwat seeks to position the RSS as aligned with India’s foundational ethos, framing ‘illegal’ conversion as a threat to the country’s cultural unity and secular fabric. Since 2018, when Mukherjee attended RSS’ Vijaya Dashami event as the chief guest in Nagpur and delivered his speech, the organisation was seen as aligned with Mukherjee. After his passing in 2020, Bhagwat referred to Mukherjee as a ‘guide’ and quoted him multiple times while addressing programmes.

Bhagwat’s current statements seem to signal an ongoing attempt to fuse political, cultural, and constitutional narratives, using Mukherjee’s legacy as a bridge across ideological divides.

Last Updated:January 13, 2025, 11:50 IST

The BJP shared a poster in which Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal was depicted as “Mogambo” and accused him of being anti-Purvanchal

Days before the Delhi Elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) engaged in banter on social media platforms, taking digs and potshots at each other.

On Monday, the BJP shared a new poster in which former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was shown as the villainous character “Mogambo” who was part of the Bollywood film Mr India.

While sharing the poster on X, the BJP took a jibe at Kejriwal and accused the AAP of being against the Purvanchal region.

“AAP ka purvanchal virodhi chehra poore desh ke saamne benkaab ho chuka hai! Dilli mein reh rahe UP-Bihar ke log Arvind Kejriwal ke liye farji. Lekin Rohingya aur Bangladeshi ghuspaithiye inke yaar? (AAP’s anti-Purvanchal face has been exposed before the whole country! People from UP-Bihar living in Delhi are fake for Arvind Kejriwal. But are Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators his friends),” read the post.

Responding to the BJP, AAP shared a spoof video in which Kejriwal and Union Minister Amit Shah were seen having a fictional conversation.

“Dilli mein haar saamne dekh, BJP ke haath-pair phool gaye. (Seeing defeat in front of me in Delhi, BJP is in a fix),” said the party in a post on X.

In the video, AAP was shown mocking the BJP for not having any face to contest the elections and claimed that they won’t get even one seat in the polls.

The new spoof video and poster further escalated the ongoing “poster-video war” between the two parties.

In another poster, BJP had said, “Arvind Kejriwal is the mastermind behind the Rs 2,026 crore liquor scam. The people of Delhi will settle the accounts on 5 February.”

AAP had also released a poster slamming BJP’s Kalkaji candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and calling him the “CM face of abusive party.”

On February 5, the Delhi Assembly elections will take place and the vote counting will happen on February 8.

Last Updated:January 11, 2025, 08:58 IST

Sulakshana, herself a local BJP leader, moved the court against the AAP leader after Singh levelled allegations against her in connection with an alleged cash-for-jobs scam in Goa.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh assured a court in Goa on Friday that he would not make any statement against Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s wife Sulakshana Sawant till the next hearing of the defamation case filed by her.

Sulakshana, herself a local BJP leader, moved the court against the AAP leader after Singh levelled allegations against her in connection with an alleged cash-for-jobs scam in Goa.

The case, where she has sought damages of Rs 100 crore, came up before the civil court at Bicholim. At the previous hearing, the court had sought Singh’s reply.

Advocate Pralhad Paranjape who represented Sulakshana Sawant along with senior advocate S V Manohar told reporters that they asked for a court `injunction’ or interim order restraining Singh from making any further defamatory statements against her.

“The counsel for defendant (Singh) made a statement that till the next hearing, they will not make any further statements,” he said.

The case would be heard again on January 24, the lawyer added.

Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, had made certain allegations against Sulakshana Sawant at a press conference in Delhi last year.

Besides compensation, Sawant has demanded an apology from the AAP MP with a clarification that his statements were not true.

Opposition in Goa has been targeting the BJP government in the state over a `scam’ where some people allegedly duped scores of job aspirants promising them government jobs for money.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)