'Statements against RSS have marred fight against terror'

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been fighting a battle against the Union home ministry ever since Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde made a statement suggesting that the RSS runs training camps promoting Hindu terrorism.

In an interview with rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa, Ram Madhav, member of the national executive and spokesperson of the RSS, discusses the comments made by Shinde, the controversial speech of Andhra Pradesh MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi and also the Bharatiya Janata Party’s next prime ministerial candidate.

The home minister’s remark

I feel it is all part of Congress’s political game. We have seen a pattern in these statements. What (Sushilkumar) Shinde is speaking of is a myth and the statements were made to appeal to certain sections of the country. He thought that they would have a political benefit and also gain some votes.

If you recollect, former home minister P Chidambaram was the first to say something to this effect. He raised the bogey of saffron terror. He retracted his statements later saying it was made in the context of some information. Digvijaya Singh (senior Congress leader) too made similar statements and now the home minister has raked up the issue.

If you listen to the speech made by Shinde, it is very clear that he was trying to please his political bosses. Shinde made the statement for political gains, but what was the necessity for the home secretary to back the statement? When a political statement is made there is no obligation for the home secretary to come and issue another statement backing it. Doesn’t this mean he is trying to influence the investigation?

The RSS will tackle the issue. We are used to such statements and we can handle it. But when a home minister makes such a statement it carries a lot of weight. It is a myth that he is speaking about and in the bargain we have destroyed our capability of fighting terror.

What about those arrested?

When an investigation is on responsible persons like the home minister and the home secretary must not talk about it publicly. In all those cases in which Hindus have been implicated there is no clear cut case that has been made out against them. In all these cases a set of boys from the minority community were arrested initially. They have confessions and you can check the records of investigating agencies that have probed these cases. But suddenly today there are a different set of youngsters who have been implicated in these cases.

Our point is, if the first investigation was wrong then can’t the second one also be wrong? One has to wait until the allegations are proved. Since the past four years the National Investigation Agency has not been able to prove anything or make any progress. Every second day they have a new theory.

Take the 2007 Samjhauta blasts case for example. Pakistan minister Rehman Malik had himself said it was the Lashkar-e-Tayiba that carried out the blast. A resolution by the United Nations too said the Lashkar was responsible. Now that stand has been changed. This is nothing but a conspiracy to implicate the Hindu youth.

Owaisi’s speech

This is a serious question for the Muslims in the country. The Owaisi brothers are trying to occupy the leadership vacuum in the Muslim community today. The larger question I would like to ask is, do the Muslims want leaders like this? Do they want to look up to an Owaisi, who is anti-majority or anti-India? However, we are happy that the government took strong action and today the Owaisis stand isolated.

Modi for prime minister 

This is a decision that the party (BJP) and its leaders will have to take. Firstly the people will have to vote for the party. Whoever the party decides to make prime minister the RSS will be fine with it. The RSS does not have any special opposition to anyone.

However, the prime focus should first be to get the required number of seats in Parliament.