Shiv Sena(UBT)'s 'Saamana' sees motive behind PM's RSS praise

Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS) Shiv Sena(UBT) on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's praise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his Independence Day speech was to ensure his "continuation as the longest serving PM even after he completes 75 years of age".

"The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has no connection with the freedom struggle, Independence Day, or the Red Fort. Yet, Prime Minister Modi showered praise on the RSS heavily in his speech from the Red Fort out of this fear that he may not continue as the PM in future," claimed the Uddhav Thackeray camp in the party's mouthpiece, 'Saamana' editorial.

Taking a swipe at PM Modi, the editorial said he spoke for more than two and a half hours because there was a teleprompter in front of him. "It is doubtful whether the public has ever heard such a long, boring speech on news channels. In a way, it was a farewell speech. An attempt was made to curry favour with the RSS.”

"PM Modi had no reason to praise the RSS in his important Independence Day speech. Modi made a proud mention of the RSS and praised it by saying that it is the world's largest 'NGO'. “The question is, why has this NGO in the world so far withheld the election of the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party? Secondly, for whom has this 'NGO' indicated that a person in power will retire at the age of 75 and participate in social work?" asked Thackeray camp in the editorial.

It further stated that according to the information in circulation, this NGO indicated that "PM Modi will step down from the post of Prime Minister after he completes 75 years of age, and that is why he used the Independence Day celebrations to win the confidence of the RSS".

The Thackeray camp said it was PM Modi’s 12th speech from the rampart of Red Fort, but he must have had doubts about whether he would come to deliver his thirteenth speech, and "that uneasiness and fear were evident".

"PM Modi said that the RSS has made a great contribution from individual development to nation building, but the real history of the freedom struggle tells a different story. For one, his party BJP and RSS, were nowhere to be seen in the freedom struggle and subsequent nation-building. Lakhs of ordinary citizens and Congress workers ended their lives and became martyrs during the freedom struggle. Among them were numerous people of socialist and Leftist ideology. However, PM Modi, by giving the credit for nation-building to the RSS volunteers, insulted the real martyrs and revolutionaries from the Red Fort. Even the leaders of the RSS would not have liked this," the editorial mentioned.

The editorial said that RSS has been around for a hundred years, but the Congress party in the freedom movement is 150 years old. “PM Modi is reciting and meditating on the 'Sangh Chalisa' from the Red Fort. Because Modi's Prime Ministership rests on the grace of Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat. He struggled from the Red Fort to ensure the mercy of the RSS and Bhagwat,” added the editorial.

--IANS

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