Rift Between Narendra Modi Camp And RSS Is Accentuating During Polls

It was inevitable. It was to happen. Never before in its hundred years of existence, no Sarasaṅghacālaka, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right-wing organisation, the parent entente of the BJP, had faced this nature of humiliation as the incumbent Mohan Bhagwat has to suffer from none else but by the BJP national president J P Nadda. It is beyond comprehension how could Nadda insult RSS the head of all the Sangh Parivar groups.

But it happened. Only three days back, he made a public statement: “We (BJP) have grown, we are more capable now… the BJP runs itself. Party has no plan for temples at the disputed sites in Mathura and Kashi. It has grown from the time it needed the RSS and is now “saksham” (capable) and runs its own affairs. The RSS is an “ideological front” and does its own work.”

The entire RSS leadership is stupefied at this audacity of Nadda. It is not that they are unaware of the prompter, the person who conjured Nadda to make such impertinent and brass statement. But for this again they blame Bhagwat. Almost all the senior leaders nurse the feeling that Bhagwat has created a Frankenstein. These leaders have consistently been bringing the style of governance and functioning of Narendra Modi to his attention, but he simply refused to take them seriously.

Two years back, the second in command, general secretary of RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale has presented a very shabby image of the BJP government with the observation that Modi has not been serious about running the government. The RSS leaders nurse if Bhagwat had taken some action the situation might not have deteriorated to such an extent where the existence and stature of RSS is being challenged that is through a person who Modi and Amit Shah do not treat more than a servile dependent

The time chosen by Nadda to send his missile to the RSS bosses simply indicates that the worst is yet to come. No astute politician would ever had dared to disparage the authority of his political and ideological mentor that too just ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha election as it would send a wrong message across the country especially amongst the cadres. But he did it without caring for the consequences. The primary reason has been his political masters are ready to go to any extent to liberate BJP from their dominion and project it as the true representative of the rightist ideas and also politics of Hindutva.

Unperturbed of the terrifying consequences, Nadda even made it explicit that BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi will break certain myths that will surprise everyone. Though he said Modi enjoyed immense blessings of people from east to west, north to south, he did not reveal the real nature of the “myths”. He nonetheless dropped indication that RSS will cease to be ideological mentor of BJP.

His statement is quite loaded, but does not hide the intentions of Modi that he would not allow any nature of erosion to his authority and personality. He is not going to accept the dictate of the RSS lying low. The fact he never obeyed the RSS and even on number of occasions he dared to throw them in the dust bin.

After he was sworn in as the prime minister for the second time in 2019, Modi started showing his fangs. But the RSS leadership did not check him. Strange Bhagwat was so delighted with the success of his mission to convert India into a Hindu Rashtra through Modi, that he preferred to ignore his wrong doings. His approach towards Modi makes it explicit that Bhagwat was more concerned of the final gains than the mechanism adopted for gaining the mission. For him purity, probity and transparency were not important.

Shockingly for Bhagwat, style of Modi’s functioning did not matter much while it caused deep resentment amongst the RSS leadership. The main disquiet of the RSS leadership was Modi’s style of governance and his individual-centric operation. He even turned the other senior BJP leaders dwarfs. His not listening to the RSS dictates or utter disregard to its directives has turned them hostile towards him. But they felt helpless as their chief was not willing to fetter him.

Nevertheless the Sangh sources maintain that it was a complaint by some senior RSS leaders against Modi to Bhagwat that accentuated the crisis. These leaders, mostly from Maharashtra, had protested to Bhagwat that Modi was trying to turn Maharashtra into a colony of Gujarat. They had alleged Prime Minister even went out of the way to promote the business interest of the Gujarati industrialists in Maharashtra. It was at his insistence that some of the industrial units which were to be set up in Maharashtra were shifted to Gujarat.

They also expressed apprehension that this will once again pit Gujarati people against Maharashtrians. In December 1953, The Fazal Ali Commission announced various states, which also included Andhra Pradesh for Telugu-speaking people. But it was not able to find a solution for the separation of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Marathi speaking people celebrate May 1 as Maharashtra Day every year. It is also the statehood Day of Gujarat state. It is the day when the state of Maharashtra was formed including the city of Mumbai. A long struggle had led to a separation of the erstwhile Bombay state into two states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. A total of 107 people lost their lives.

RSS leaders also pointed to his attempt to close Nandhini Milk Cooperative of Karnataka and hand over the operation to Gujarat based Amul. It was also pointed out how two Gujarati leaders were using their position and office to thrust their diktat on the states and forcing the Maharashtra government to take care of the Gujarati traders and businessman.

Rahul Gandhi’s consistent attack on Adani simply put the RSS leaders in a very awkward position. They were finding it hard to answer the question of Maharashtra RSS leaders. Rahul’s attack has a strategic dimension. Through targeting Adani, he wanted to expose the conspiratorial operation of Modi. What further strained the RSS relation with Modi is reluctance of Modi to listen to RSS suggestion to go slow in attacking Rahul. It was pointed out that the ground level feedback from various sources simply enforced the fact that his attack was simply helping Rahul to emerge as the powerful peoples’ leader.

The RSS leaders were also not happy with him for bucking Rahul’s questions and allegations. As the prime minister he should have faced Rahul and replied to his queries. At a recent meet of the RSS leaders which took place just after first phase of polling, some of the RSS leaders even expressed concern whether he was competent to govern India. These leaders underscored that the RSS leadership should have taken action just after Hosabale’s censuring. It should not have allowed the situation to go out of hands.

Nadda through his interview tried to project Modi as the creator of modern India who does not need RSS. He also intended to negate the earlier leaders of Jana Sangh and BJP by saying “In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. The BJP runs itself). That’s the difference.”

Five phases of Lok Sabha elections have just been completed. Only two more are left. The Lok Sabha poll results will be out on June 4. Already signals are there that the BJP is losing many seats in its Hindi heartland states. The big chasm between PM Narendra Modi and the major leadership of RSS is sure to have impact on the BJP fortunes in the remaining two phases. How much that will be known on June 4. (IPA Service)