SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma accused BJP of trying to piggyback on regional parties to make inroads in Meghalaya and appealed to people to insulate the State from the forces of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that is pulling the strings in the government at the Centre.
Responding to a query about RSS’s work in poll-bound Meghalaya, Sangma told reporters after casting his vote that the Centre is not pursuing the agenda of a political party but that of RSS, “the non-government actor which is the working force for BJP at the grassroots level”.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sangma said he was bound by RSS diktat and one example of this is the linking of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to sell of cattle and location of cattle markets in the country.
“Therefore it is the responsibility of citizens and society to understand their hidden agenda which is not acceptable to all,” he added.
RSS is also pulling the strings of governance, which is unconstitutional, and is putting their agenda in forming government rules.
When contacted, BJP State President Shibun Lyngdoh denied the claims and said such allegations are not new by the Congress party.
Lyngdoh added that RSS being a social organisation has its own way of strengthening the country whereas BJP is a political party. “RSS has its own field and BJP has its own way of working,” he added.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the RSS Shillong Zone, Mangkashanf Khongshei, said it is not a political party but a socio-cultural organisation that is working wholeheartedly to make India a strong nation that the world should respect.
Khongshei, however, added that some of its workers in India left the organisation and joined politics.
“We believe that all religions can reach God just like all rivers reach the mighty ocean. We believe in Unity in Diversity for a strong nation. India is like a big garden and all communities are like different flowers with their respective fragrances,” he said and added that the group is “against anti-national forces, whether from outside or inside”.
But the chief minister on Monday did not mince his words in criticising the NDA government at the Centre, the vulnerability of northeastern ethnic groups and the nationwide “concerns” over its several agenda.
“See what is happening in this country precisely because of the agenda of the RSS which is being driven by the NDA government,” Sangma said.
Sangma also said it would be interesting to see how MLAs from other political parties vote in the presidential election as their choice for the NDA candidate would mean endorsing BJP agenda.
“Our personal liberty is under threat and their (RSS) agenda is being pursued by the NDA government one after the other,” he said and added that the agenda of RSS existed since post independence that led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
