Haryana BJP leaders slam Rahul Gandhi for RSS remarks, ask him to attend ‘shakha’

A day after Rahul Gandhi targeted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday hit out at the Congress leader, saying he should attend an RSS shakha for a few days, as he knows nothing about the organisation.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said even Congress leaders are perplexed by Gandhi’s remarks.

“He remains a pappu,” Khattar mentioned, referring to the term that means naive and ignorant and is often used by BJP leaders to target Gandhi.

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Attacking the RSS, Gandhi, during a corner meeting in Ambala as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, called its members the “21st-century Kauravas” on Monday.

“Country stands because of RSS”

Vij lashed out at Gandhi, saying he was talking about the poor but sleeping in a “palace on wheels” during his Yatra.

“He has no right to comment on RSS, about which he knows nothing,” the BJP leader stressed, adding that “today, the country stands because of RSS.”

Rahul Gandhi should go to an RSS shakha for a few days to know about RSS, he said.
Vij also took a swipe at Gandhi for saying he decided to wear only T-shirts during the foot march after meeting three poor girls “shivering in torn clothes” in Madhya Pradesh.

“Rahul Gandhi should have at least gone to the house of those girls to see how they live, where they sleep… He sleeps in a palace on wheels, which has all luxuries and is part of a fleet of vehicles which accompany him,” the minister said.

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Vij also added that millions of rupees are being spent on his travel and asked about the source of the funds.

On Gandhi’s remarks, Khattar told reporters, “From the kind of remarks he makes, one does not understand what philosophy he follows.”

“Sometimes he becomes Shiv bhakt (Lord Shiva follower) and then asks who raises (Har Har Mahadev) Jaikara; sometimes he targets pujaris. No one can understand what his direction is… it is not that only we are perplexed. Even Congress people are perplexed.
Anyway, he remains a pappu,” the chief minister pointed.

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Gandhi on Monday alleged that RSS people never say “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Siya Ram” as they are against India’s values and “tapasya“.

Bharat Jodo Yatra 

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag there.

It moved to Punjab on Tuesday after passing through seven Haryana districts in two phases, with the Haryana leg concluding in Ambala district.

The march has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

(With agency inputs)