As the Lok Sabha elections are about to end, interviews of many political leaders are being taken on newspapers and TV channels. Among these, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda recently gave an interview to The Indian Express. These excerpts from this interview have been published on the website of Indian Express. In this interview, Nadda talked about many issues, but his comment on the relationship between BJP and RSS has sparked discussion on social media. Opposition leaders and leftist journalists are claiming that Nadda said that BJP no longer needs RSS.
The national spokesperson of the Congress, Supriya Shrinate, wrote, “This morning, a senior BJP leader met us in the airport lounge. He said that Nadda’s statement has created a ruckus in the party and RSS. Two days ago Nadda ji had said that now BJP is capable and they do not need RSS Then I remembered, this news was not seen much on TV – then how many debates were there on this?” (Archived link)
आज सुबह BJP के एक बड़े नेता एयरपोर्ट लाउंज में मिल गए, बात बात में बोले नड्डा के बयान से पार्टी और RSS में सिर फ़ुटव्वल मच गई है
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) May 20, 2024
दो दिन पहले नड्डा जी ने कहा था कि अब BJP सक्षम है उन्हें RSS की ज़रूरत नहीं
फिर याद आया, टीवी पर यह खबर ख़ास दिखी नहीं – तो कितने डिबेट हुए इस पर? pic.twitter.com/ZXhLCPRGSS
Leftist journalist Ravish Kumar wrote, “RSS is not needed? BJP has become so big. The job of Panna Pramukh should be kept for the preachers. Self-confidence is amazing.” (Archived link)
RSS की ज़रूरत नहीं है ? इतनी बड़ी हो गई बीजेपी। पन्ना प्रमुख का काम तो प्रचारकों के लिए रखना चाहिए। आत्म विश्वास तो ग़ज़ब का है । pic.twitter.com/8jm2VACqDy
— ravish kumar (@ravishndtv) May 18, 2024
Leftist journalist Dayashankar Mishra wrote, “Now there is no need of RSS! RSS is the soul of BJP. For the first time the body has claimed to be outside the soul. It remains to be seen when JP Nadda will deny the interview. Just a 30 second comment.” (Archived link)
अब RSS की ज़रूरत नहीं !
— Dayashankar Mishra (@DayashankarMi) May 18, 2024
RSS बीजेपी की आत्मा है।पहली बार शरीर ने आत्मा से बाहर होने का दावा किया है।देखना है,जेपी नड्डा कब इंटरव्यू का खंडन करेंगे। केवल 30 सेकेंड की टिप्पणी। https://t.co/0SQoBaGPv2 pic.twitter.com/C9dTF2LBJY
Media organization Dainik Bhaskar wrote, “JP Nadda said – earlier we needed RSS, but today BJP is capable, today the party is running itself.’ According to Bhaskar’s report, Nadda was asked a question that how has the position of RSS changed between the time of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now? In response he said that initially we would be incompetent. Will be a little less. Then RSS was needed. Today we have grown and are capable so BJP runs itself. This is the difference.” (Archived link)
जेपी नड्डा ने कहा- पहले हमें #RSS की जरूरत थी, लेकिन आज भाजपा सक्षम है, आज पार्टी अपने आप को चला रही है#jpnadda #polilticshttps://t.co/sPsvWQLsAA
— Dainik Bhaskar (@DainikBhaskar) May 20, 2024
INC member Arunesh Kumar wrote, “According to Nadda ji, BJ Party no longer needs RSS, now RSS people should pack up their bags and leave!!” (Archived link)
नड्डा जी के हिसाब से अब BJ Party को RSS की जरूरत नहीं है, अब RSS वाले अपना बोरिया बिस्तर समेटे और निकल ले!! pic.twitter.com/lLytnwhAXR
— Dr. Arunesh Kumar Yadav (डॉ अरुणेश यादव) (@YadavArunesh) May 19, 2024
Propaganda media LallanPost wrote, “Earlier we needed RSS, but today BJP is capable, today the party is running itself. : JP Nadda, BJP President.” (Archived link)
पहले हमें RSS की जरूरत थी, लेकिन आज भाजपा सक्षम है, आज पार्टी अपने आप को चला रही है। : जेपी नड्डा, भाजपा अध्यक्ष pic.twitter.com/PAXP3kfz5g
— Lallanpost (@Lallanpost) May 21, 2024
Fact Check
To verify the viral claim, we read the interview given by JP Nadda on The Indian Express website. In an interview published on May 18, the Indian Express asked the BJP national president, “The BJP has been in power for 10 years, the RSS is your ideological parent. You are strong now, have a robust network across the country. What is the BJP-RSS state of play? We do not see much presence of the RSS in the government nor is it reflected in the policies like we had seen in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government?”
To this, JP Nadda replied, “We have grown. Everyone has got their own work. RSS is a cultural organisation and we are a political organisation. 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.”
The Indian Express further asked him, “So you don’t think you need the RSS in your political activities?”
Answering this question, JP Nadda asserted, “It’s not a question of need. It’s (RSS is) an ideological front. RSS does its work ideologically, and we do ours. The RSS and the BJP have their own areas of working very clearly established. The RSS has a century-long experience of working on socio-cultural issues. They have worked extensively in all parts of India. The BJP is a political party working to take India to new heights of progress. Powered by our karyakartas, we have emerged as the preferred choice for 140 crore Indians. Both the RSS and the BJP are performing their duties to the best of their abilities. There is great respect among both organisations for each other. Some in the media like speculating on RSS-BJP relations, they spread conspiracy theories, myths. The reality is that both have a rich history of working in tandem, guided by the spirit of Nation First.”
Conclusion: JP Nadda never said that BJP does not need RSS. He said that Sangh is a socio-cultural organization and BJP is a political organization. The duties of both are different. Both the organizations respect each other a lot and are working for the progress of India.
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