Ghulam Nabi Azad submits CD of speech on RSS remark

With the ruling BJP demanding senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s apology for allegedly drawing a parallel between terrorist organisation ISIS and Sangh Parivar fountainhead RSS, Union minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the Congress leader has “knowingly or unknowingly” given respectability to the terrorist organisation. Mr Jaitley made this statement when the Congress and BJP members were engaged in a verbal duel over Mr Azad’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha. Denying that he made any comparison, Mr Azad also submitted a CD of his speech, which he had made during an event organised by a Muslim organisation last week, to the government. Mr Azad asserted that he is willing to face privilege motion if anything wrong was found in the CD. Minister of st-ate for parliamentary aff-airs Mukhtar Abbas Naq-vi said Mr Azad’s remarks were “great old party’s gr-and new secular formula”.

Members from the SP, BSP and JD(U) also tried to raise the reservation issue alleging that the RSS wants to end the reservation system, citing media reports on the just concluded RSS conclave in Nagaur. Mr Jaitley asserted that the government was not doing any rethink on the present social and caste-based reservation policy and also said that the RSS “has also not talked” of scrapping or changing the present reservation policy. Earlier, BSP’s Mayawati said while the Constitution has clearly defined the criteria for giving reservation to SC/ST and OBCs, the RSS was talking of the quota being based on the economic criteria. SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav alleged a conspiracy in doing away with the present reservation system.

The Leader Of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha also read out the verbatim speech which he made at the event. He said that he had said that there was no fight between Hindus and Muslims in India, but a fight on ideology.

Ruing why Muslims were joining a terrorist organisation like ISIS that is destroying Islamic traditions, Mr Azad said he had stated that “we oppose to organisations like the ISIS like we oppose the RSS”.

Also, “if someone in Islam does wrong, they are no less than RSS”, he said. “Where is the comparison,” he asked. “If I had said the ISIS and the RSS are same”, there would have been a comparison. He said he had stated that Hindu, Muslim and Sikh fundamentalists have to be fought as they are against the country.

“We have to fight them all together.” Mr Azad also attacked the ruling party saying “Everyone who is not RSS or BJP is a terrorist to them.”

Making an intervention, Leader of the House and Union finance minister

Arun Jaitley said he personally respected Azad but “he should think if he has knowingly or unknowingly slipped ... You have given respectability to ISIS.”

When he was not allowed to speak by BJP members, Mr Azad, while displaying the CD, said “Everyone who is not RSS or BJP is a terrorist to them.”