NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat chief’s remark that India got it “true independence” after Ram temple was built, calling it “treason”.
While addressing party workers after inaugurating the “Indira Bhavan”, Rahul Gandhi said that Bhagwat’s assertion about India not gaining independence in 1947 disrespects all Indians.
“Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to inform the nation every two or three days what he thinks about the independent movement, what he thinks about the Constitution. In fact, what he has said yesterday is treason because it is stating that the Constitution is invalid. It is stating that everything the fight against the British was invalid. And he has the audacity to say this publicly. Any other country he would be arrested and tried. That is the fact. Right?” Rahul Gandhi said.
“To say that India did not get independence in 1947 is an insult to every single Indian person. And it’s about time we stop listening to this nonsense that these people think they can just keep parroting out and shouting and screaming, right? That is the crux of it. The Congress Party has worked with the Indian people. It has built the success of this country and it has built the success of this country on the foundations of the constitution,” he added.
At an Indore event, Bhagwat suggested celebrating the consecration day as “Pratishtha Dwadashi”, marking India’s sovereignty after centuries of “parachakra”.
The RSS chief recalled meeting former President Pranab Mukherjee when ‘Ghar Wapsi’ was discussed in Parliament. He recounted Mukherjee’s words about India’s Constitution being the world’s most secular, questioning others’ authority to lecture India about secularism.
“After India got political independence from the British on August 15, 1947, a written Constitution was made according to the path shown by that specific vision, which comes out of the “self” of the country, but the document was not run according to the spirit of the vision at that time. ,” Mohan Bhagwat said.
“The true independence of India, which had faced many centuries of persecution, was established on that day (the day of Ram Temple’s ‘pran pratishtha’). India had independence, but it was not established,” he said.