This Article is From Oct 03, 2014

In a First, Doordarshan Airs RSS Chief's Vijaya Dashami Address

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other leaders in Nagpur

Nagpur: A speech by Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, was telecast live by national broadcaster Doordarshan this morning, provoking strong reactions from political opponents and some commentators.

The RSS describes itself as a cultural outfit devoted to the betterment of the nation and upholding Hindu values; it is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP.

The annual Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra speech by its chief articulates the organization's vision and agenda for its 4.5 million volunteers, who played an invaluable role in the electoral victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.

"DD is run by public money. So how is government using it to broadcast RSS Chief's speech? Very unfortunate," said Rashid Alvi of
the Congress. Historian and writer Ramchandra Guha said on Twitter,


Prime Minister Modi's new government is "moving in the right direction," Mr Bhagwat, 64, said in his speech. He also praised the PM's recently-completed headline-grabbing tour of the US which included White House talks with President Barack Obama. "The entire country was feeling proud of the visit," Mr Bhagwat said. (In Pics: PM's Headline-Grabbing Tour of the US)

Critics decry the RSS as an organisation that fuels religious tensions, an accusation firmly denounced by its leaders as well as of those from the BJP.

The PM joined the RSS as a boy and became a full-time volunteer as a young adult for more than 15 years before he joined the BJP.

After the BJP swept the election, RSS leaders denied that the organisation would be a "remote control" over the new government, but a strong role referred to as "advisory" has been underscored by two senior RSS leaders, Ram Madhav and Shiv Prakash, being deputed to the BJP.
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