12/11/2010
New Delhi/Bhopal: As the Congress raised a furore and protested in Parliament over former RSS chief K S Sudarshan’s remarks about Sonia Gandhi to journalists on Wednesday, the Sangh chose to disassociate itself from its ex-Sarsanghachalak’s claims. The BJP too expressed its disapproval, saying that as a democratically elected leader, Sonia deserved respect.
Speaking to a handful of journalists at the venue of the RSS protest over its leaders being charged with terror, Sudarshan -- without directly naming Sonia -- had accused her of being involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
In bizarre charges, he also called her a CIA agent and said she had blocked an attempt to remove Satnam Singh as Indira Gandhi's bodyguard (he would later assassinate her along with another bodyguard). Sudarshan also asked why Sonia had "insisted" that the dying prime minister be taken to AIIMS instead of the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Topping it all was Sudarshan's charge that Sonia was an illicit child.
Noting that Sudarshan "said things which cannot be repeated", Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said the 80-year-old "seemed to have lost his mental balance". He also sought an apology from the BJP, saying it drew its inspiration from the RSS.
In a scathing attack, the Congress called Sudarshan a "fossil from the archaeological museum". "No language can be more uncivilised than this. There can be no bigger lies than these. If Congressmen get provoked after hearing all this, they (RSS) will be responsible for it... The reaction from the society to it should be such that none can dare use such uncivilised and obscene language again," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
Incidentally, till yesterday, the RSS was in denial mode over Sudarshan's remarks, with its spokesperson Ram Madhav claiming to The Indian Express that he had not addressed the media in Bhopal. Its volte face today was a result of the sharp attack from the Congress, plus the sentiment within the BJP that such comments were simply unacceptable.
Senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya said Sudarshan's remarks did not reflect the views of the outfit. "The news item that appeared in newspapers about Sonia Gandhi in the name of Sudarshanji was not the views of the RSS. The issue was neither discussed in the Sangh at any level nor does the Sangh have any knowledge about it," he said.
In Indore, Sudarshan avoided the media and did not refute or clarify what he had said.
Though some BJP leaders made a feeble attempt to fend off the Congress attack by calling it a "diversionary tactic" by the UPA to shift attention from corruption charges against its ministers, top leaders of the party were clearly not amused. "I have high regard for Sudarshanji, but I don't agree with what he has said," Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said.
BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay, who was till sometime ago editor of the RSS mouthpiece, told The Indian Express that Sonia was an elected representative and deserved respect.
"I don't know what Sudarshanji has actually said. He is a scholar par excellence but because the Congress is raking up this issue, I would like to make it clear that as a democratically elected leader, Soniaji deserves our respect and our differences are regarding policy and programmes of the UPA," he said.
Differences should be "within the acceptable constitutional norms and democratic behaviour," Vijay added. "We have always supported usage of civil language and behaviour in politics. In fact, the use of bad language in politics was started by the Left and Congress."
Condemnations of Sudarshan came from all quarters of the Congress. "This kind of slanderous statement can be made only by a person who has lost his mental balance," said Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. "It is frivolous, baseless and a figment of Sudarshan's imagination. Everyone knows how many sacrifices the Gandhi family has made for the country, both before and after Independence. Both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi laid down their lives for the unity and integrity of the country, the cause they worked for during their lifetime. The RSS has been and continues to work for communalising and dividing the country, a fact which finds reflection in the involvement of some RSS leaders in cases of bomb blasts in the country. Sudarshan should have looked inwards before levelling such a despicable charge. He and the RSS must apologise to Sonia Gandhi and the country."
"Sonia Gandhi needs no character certificate from people with deformed mentality like Sudarshan," added the Chief Minister.
Asked if the party would demand that the RSS be banned, AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said: "More than the government, it is an issue for the society."
Later in the evening, Praveen Davar, Secretary, AICC Ex-Servicemen cell, demanded that Sudarshan be arrested and the RSS banned in the same way as it had been after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Source: The Indian Express
New Delhi/Bhopal: As the Congress raised a furore and protested in Parliament over former RSS chief K S Sudarshan’s remarks about Sonia Gandhi to journalists on Wednesday, the Sangh chose to disassociate itself from its ex-Sarsanghachalak’s claims. The BJP too expressed its disapproval, saying that as a democratically elected leader, Sonia deserved respect.
Speaking to a handful of journalists at the venue of the RSS protest over its leaders being charged with terror, Sudarshan -- without directly naming Sonia -- had accused her of being involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
In bizarre charges, he also called her a CIA agent and said she had blocked an attempt to remove Satnam Singh as Indira Gandhi's bodyguard (he would later assassinate her along with another bodyguard). Sudarshan also asked why Sonia had "insisted" that the dying prime minister be taken to AIIMS instead of the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Topping it all was Sudarshan's charge that Sonia was an illicit child.
Noting that Sudarshan "said things which cannot be repeated", Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said the 80-year-old "seemed to have lost his mental balance". He also sought an apology from the BJP, saying it drew its inspiration from the RSS.
In a scathing attack, the Congress called Sudarshan a "fossil from the archaeological museum". "No language can be more uncivilised than this. There can be no bigger lies than these. If Congressmen get provoked after hearing all this, they (RSS) will be responsible for it... The reaction from the society to it should be such that none can dare use such uncivilised and obscene language again," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.
Incidentally, till yesterday, the RSS was in denial mode over Sudarshan's remarks, with its spokesperson Ram Madhav claiming to The Indian Express that he had not addressed the media in Bhopal. Its volte face today was a result of the sharp attack from the Congress, plus the sentiment within the BJP that such comments were simply unacceptable.
Senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya said Sudarshan's remarks did not reflect the views of the outfit. "The news item that appeared in newspapers about Sonia Gandhi in the name of Sudarshanji was not the views of the RSS. The issue was neither discussed in the Sangh at any level nor does the Sangh have any knowledge about it," he said.
In Indore, Sudarshan avoided the media and did not refute or clarify what he had said.
Though some BJP leaders made a feeble attempt to fend off the Congress attack by calling it a "diversionary tactic" by the UPA to shift attention from corruption charges against its ministers, top leaders of the party were clearly not amused. "I have high regard for Sudarshanji, but I don't agree with what he has said," Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said.
BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay, who was till sometime ago editor of the RSS mouthpiece, told The Indian Express that Sonia was an elected representative and deserved respect.
"I don't know what Sudarshanji has actually said. He is a scholar par excellence but because the Congress is raking up this issue, I would like to make it clear that as a democratically elected leader, Soniaji deserves our respect and our differences are regarding policy and programmes of the UPA," he said.
Differences should be "within the acceptable constitutional norms and democratic behaviour," Vijay added. "We have always supported usage of civil language and behaviour in politics. In fact, the use of bad language in politics was started by the Left and Congress."
Condemnations of Sudarshan came from all quarters of the Congress. "This kind of slanderous statement can be made only by a person who has lost his mental balance," said Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. "It is frivolous, baseless and a figment of Sudarshan's imagination. Everyone knows how many sacrifices the Gandhi family has made for the country, both before and after Independence. Both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi laid down their lives for the unity and integrity of the country, the cause they worked for during their lifetime. The RSS has been and continues to work for communalising and dividing the country, a fact which finds reflection in the involvement of some RSS leaders in cases of bomb blasts in the country. Sudarshan should have looked inwards before levelling such a despicable charge. He and the RSS must apologise to Sonia Gandhi and the country."
"Sonia Gandhi needs no character certificate from people with deformed mentality like Sudarshan," added the Chief Minister.
Asked if the party would demand that the RSS be banned, AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said: "More than the government, it is an issue for the society."
Later in the evening, Praveen Davar, Secretary, AICC Ex-Servicemen cell, demanded that Sudarshan be arrested and the RSS banned in the same way as it had been after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Source: The Indian Express
K.Venugopal
Friday, 12 November 2010 13:40:52
Sudarshanji has alluded to Sonia Gandhi being behind the murder of Indira Gandhi (if press reports of what is attributed to him is true) based on charges brought up during the trial of both India Gandhi's and Rajiv Gandhi's murder. In Indira Gandhi's murder, the famous lawyer Lekhi said that while all the over a dozen bullets hit her from the front, one bullet was fired from behind and it was fired from within the house by Sonia Gandhi. The court took cognizance of the charge but the charge could not be proceeded against as the revolver from which the shot was fired was never recovered. Similarly, in the case of Rajiv Gandhi, it was widely speculated that while Sonia Gandhi accompanied him upto the last meeting before the fateful day, she did not accompany him to Sriperumbudur and based on this there was a controversy at the time of the trial. Sudarshanji was bringing out the fact that far more direct charges were brought up against Sonia Gandhi than has so far been brought up against RSS leader Indresh Kumar. Meanwhile the RSS has distanced itself from Sudarshanji's statement only because the charges against Sonia Gandhi in the end came to nothing.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4568665&page=0
Friday, 12 November 2010 13:40:52
Sudarshanji has alluded to Sonia Gandhi being behind the murder of Indira Gandhi (if press reports of what is attributed to him is true) based on charges brought up during the trial of both India Gandhi's and Rajiv Gandhi's murder. In Indira Gandhi's murder, the famous lawyer Lekhi said that while all the over a dozen bullets hit her from the front, one bullet was fired from behind and it was fired from within the house by Sonia Gandhi. The court took cognizance of the charge but the charge could not be proceeded against as the revolver from which the shot was fired was never recovered. Similarly, in the case of Rajiv Gandhi, it was widely speculated that while Sonia Gandhi accompanied him upto the last meeting before the fateful day, she did not accompany him to Sriperumbudur and based on this there was a controversy at the time of the trial. Sudarshanji was bringing out the fact that far more direct charges were brought up against Sonia Gandhi than has so far been brought up against RSS leader Indresh Kumar. Meanwhile the RSS has distanced itself from Sudarshanji's statement only because the charges against Sonia Gandhi in the end came to nothing.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4568665&page=0
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