New Delhi, June 08: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has denied his organisation is behind the perceived recent efforts to destabilise the government or topple it through the agitation launched by yoga expert Baba Ramdev.
Speaking in Nagpur on Monday — his statement was released to the press here on Tuesday — Mr. Bhagwat said the RSS “was not concerned with whom the power rests” and it did not believe that the evil of corruption could be tackled by transformation of the system. “If we transform the system, new ways will be explored [to cheat] in that system.” The RSS believed that only through “social transformation” by teaching ethical values could corruption be tackled.
Indirectly, Mr. Bhagwat was responding to recent criticism that the RSS was the force behind the agitation spearheaded by Baba Ramdev. He lashed out at the Union government for trying to suppress the protests that had triggered sympathetic sentiments among the common people. He signalled his support for Ramdev’s agitation, suggesting the government should not have ended the dialogue with him to resolve the issues he had raised.
The statement said he recommended the “Chhattrapati Shivaji model of governance” for the country. But it did not clarify whether he favoured an end to the parliamentary system of governance.
Mr. Bhagwat said that attending a daily ‘shakha’ (RSS organised gathering) was the only way to bring about social transformation. “Even if you roam around the world, you will not get anything [like good values]. You have to come to the sangh shakha… regular shakha going alone can bring about social transformation.” As for power, the RSS did not care who or which party came to power.
His remarks at a valedictory function on completion of the third level of training for ‘swayamsevaks’ or RSS volunteers are seen as a response to the Congress criticism that the BJP — having failed to meet the ruling party politically and after the defeat in two successive Lok Sabha elections — had fallen back on help from the RSS.
–Agencies