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RSS won't remote control Modi
Highlights
RSS won\'t remote control Modi. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has said it is ready to offer advice to the new Narendra Modi-led NDA government which will be sworn in next week, but will not seek to run it by \"remote control\".
Nagpur: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has said it is ready to offer advice to the new Narendra Modi-led NDA government which will be sworn in next week, but will not seek to run it by "remote control".
Asked what role the RSS would play with a BJP government at the Centre, the organisation's sarkaryavah (general secretary) Suresh "Bhaiyyaji" Joshi replied: "No role. If they ask us we will suggest (ideas) to them."
"Any government which is run by remote control is not good for democracy," Mr Joshi said, speaking at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur after it became clear that the BJP has won a huge mandate in the general elections.
The RSS is the BJP's ideological mentor. It plays an important role in the BJP's decision making and also mediates during crises.
Mr Modi is the RSS' most famous alumnus. The 63-year-old BJP leader was a pracharak or campaigner in the RSS in his 30s, and Sangh members have voiced hope that he will try and advance a "Hindutva" or nationalist agenda in government.
Mr Joshi said the pledge to build a Ram temple is a part of the BJP's election manifesto and the party must keep its promise. The RSS wants a Ram temple built at the disputed site in Ayodhya where the Babri mosque was brought down by Hindu activists in 1992.
RSS followers played a significant grassroots role in campaigning for Mr Modi during the election this year, even though he made issues such as the economy and development the main focus of his campaign, saying development is his "religion."
In an election rally in a town adjacent to Ayodhya, Mr Modi did not mention the temple.
The BJP has won 284 seats, which means that it has secured an overall majority -- the first by any party in three decades -- and will not have to be bound by the dictates of coalition partners who might otherwise shackle Hindutva policies.
Several other senior BJP leaders who are expected to take up important posts in Mr Modi's new government are also former members of the organisation.
Mr Joshi said today, "By setting aside ideological, religious and social differences, we expect the new government to create an environment where the nation stays united, there is total social inclusiveness and no one ever feels exploited."
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