Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Friday sharply responded to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s call for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying Congress leaders should “first study the views of their own icons” before making such statements.
Addressing reporters, Trivedi referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier remarks about the Congress’ historical neglect of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, accusing the party of hypocrisy in its treatment of India’s Iron Man.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address this morning, clearly stated what the Congress did to Sardar Patel. Before 2014, in how many Congress events did you see Sardar Patel’s photo in the background? And today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has built the world’s largest statue, the Statue of Unity. To date, no Congress leader has visited there. This shows their feelings for Sardar Patel,” Trivedi said.
The BJP MP further invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s remarks about the RSS to counter Kharge’s criticism.
“I want to remind Kharge ji that Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘I went to the RSS camp when its founder, Dr. Hedgewar, was alive, and I was totally impressed with the discipline and lack of untouchability — they were doing great work.’ So, I think senior Congress leaders should at least gather information about their own leaders and then comment,” he added.
