The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Rahul Gandhi have a hate-hate relationship. In fact, whether abroad or in India, the Congress leader has made it a point to ensure that he doesn’t miss a chance to call out the Sangh for being anti-women and restrictive.
So, it came as no surprise when Gandhi, while addressing Indian students in Dallas, said the RSS ideology had made its way into the education system back home, with the vice-chancellors of most universities being Sangh appointees. However, what has angered the BJP and RSS even more is Gandhi’s charge that the RSS is anti-women and “expects them to be in kitchen”.
While the Sangh has so far not responded to the allegations, the BJP attacked Gandhi, with Union minister Giriraj Singh saying the Congress leader would “have to take many births to know about the RSS”. “A traitor cannot know the RSS. Those who go abroad and criticise the country cannot know the RSS. RSS is born from the values and culture of India,” he said.
Unlike his grandmother, father and even mother, Rahul Gandhi’s politics has begun with a despise for the Sangh. He, like many in his party, believes that the Sangh dictates the BJP and the only way one can weaken the BJP is by painting it as a party subservient to the Sangh.
It’s surprising that Rahul Gandhi overlooks the fact that Indira Gandhi shared good equations with the RSS but maintained distance from them. Sonia Gandhi would attack the BJP and Modi but Sangh was rarely a part of her script. A bit of that changed, however, when her son joined Congress actively.
Despite facing a defamation suit from the RSS for accusing the organisation of being responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi has refused to back down. He is convinced that the more he attacks the RSS and the more backlash he faces from them, the more he can project himself as a tough leader who takes them on.
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