RSS, Netaji aligned in goal of making India great, says Mohan Bhagwat

His comment comes amid the criticism that the ideologies of the RSS and the freedom fighter are not the same

On his 126th birth anniversary, Subhas Chandra Bose’s legacy has claimants with differing ideas of nation-building — the Left, the Right, and the rest.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday offered tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose in Kolkata stating that he is an ideal example for the creation of a glorious India, and the Sangh is merely moving ahead with Bose’s vision of building such a nation.

"At the time of India’s struggle for independence, there were people of different ideologies, and while each had chosen a different path, the goal was the same: India’s liberation. We have achieved it. The dream of building a glorious India that Bose envisioned, the Sangh is moving ahead with that in mind," Bhagwat said.

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Bhagwat told the followers that Netaji wanted to build a strong society by ‘building’ people, and the Sangh is doing the same by building ‘honest’ humans. Holding Bose’s life as an ideal example of commitment towards building a glorious India, he said that the great leader is remembered annually through different programmes organised by the Sangh.

Bose knocked at India’s doorsteps, and had the timing been more in favour, he would have stepped deeper into the country liberating it much earlier, Bhagwat said. He also mentioned that Bose and KB Hedgwar — the founder of Sangh, had interacted at a Congress session in Kolkata about the future of India.

Addressing 10,000 followers (Sangh’s estimate) Bhagwat paid tribute to Bose at a congregation at Shaheed Minar ground in central Kolkata, the venue a short distance away from Netaji’s statue where over an hour later, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also paid homage to Bose in presence a section of members from the Bose family.

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Banerjee recalled how Bose envisioned what a free India would look like. “Who formed the Indian National Army?... We salute our army and urge them to remember the Jai Hind slogan. This slogan united India and destroyed the forces that tried to break us,” she said.

Netaji’s grand nephew Chandra Bose, who had contested the assembly election against Mamata Banerjee in 2016 on a BJP ticket, in a surprising appearance, was seen sharing the dais with the chief minister in the official function at Netaji’s statue.