Ghulam Nabi Azad links RSS to ISIS, BJP seeks apology

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday sparked a row after he sought to draw a parallel between the RSS and the terrorist outfit ISIS, evoking sharp responses from the Hindutva outfit and the BJP, which demanded an apology from him.

“So, we oppose organisations like ISIS the way we oppose RSS. If those among us in Islam too do wrong things, they are in no way less than RSS,” Mr Azad, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said at the “National Integration Conference” organised by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

“We see among Muslims too, who have become the reason of destruction of Muslim countries today... There are some forces behind it... But we need to understand why Muslims are taking part in it, why they are getting trapped,” he said. The issue is expected to figure in Parliament when it meets on Monday.

An RSS spokesperson in Nagaur, where a meeting of the organisation’s functionaries is on, said such a comparison showed the “intellectual bankruptcy” of the Congress and its “unwillingness to deal with fundamentalist and cruel forces like ISIS”. The RSS will consider legal action against Mr Azad, he said. The BJP jumped to the defence of its ideological mentor, calling it a nationalist organisation and demanding an apology from Mr Azad. The party said it was “unfortunate” that Mr Azad had made such comments and asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to disassociate from his remarks and take action against him if he did not withdraw them. “RSS is a nationalist organisation. It is very unfortunate that he has said so. It shows his mental bankruptcy.

He must apologise or Gandhi should take action against him,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said. He said a number of Congress leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi, had tried to repress the organisation but it had only emerged “stronger”.

The BJP also termed as “politically motivated” Mrs Gandhi’s written message to the same conference that the country was passing through a “critical phase” as those in power are “spreading hatred” by targeting secularism.

“She is speaking against what her party has always practised. Congress divided the nation along caste, religion and regional lines. She should not be preaching to the BJP,” Mr Sharma said, accusing the Congress of “supporting” anti-national elements for political reasons, a reference to the JNU row.