Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Wednesday (September 25) sought to downplay the perceived rift between the organisation and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but underlined that matters within a family should not be discussed in public. Sunil Ambekar, a senior RSS functionary who is the organisation’s Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, was speaking in a conclave organised by India Today.
He was asked if comments by BJP president JP Nadda before Lok Sabha elections 2024 caused rift between the BJP and its ideological fountainhead.
We solve family matters like family matters. We don’t discuss such issues on public platforms,” said Ambekar.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Nadda had remarked that the BJP had become self-sufficient and was now capable of running its own affairs. At the time, he called RSS an ‘ideological front’
During his participation in India Today’s Mumbai Conclave, Ambekar said that people from all walks of life joined the RSS. He said even if anyone joined the BJP for political gains, they begin doing good work because of their association with the RSS.
When asked why women do not hold prominent positions in the RSS, Ambekar said Rashtra Sevika Samiti has been doing the same work as the RSS since the 1930s.
“As a structure on the ground, the RSS shakhas are only for boys. But the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, an all-women organisation (of the RSS), has been doing the same work as the RSS since the 1930s. The basic structure of RSS is shakha. This structure is for the man-making process,” he said.
He added that there was no demand for men and women to participate in RSS activities together and that ‘society is not asking for it’
“Man-making and nation-building is RSS’ mission. Hence, shakhas have only males, while Rashtra Sevika Samiti has women (as members)…When residents of a locality say that girls and boys can play together, we will make necessary changes in our structure. But society is not asking for anything like that,” he said.
“Society is not asking for girls and boys to play together. The current structure is a matter of convenience, and that is why there is such an arrangement (of Sangh having only boys as volunteers),” he added.
