Opposition accuses Bhagwat of doublespeak over diversity remarks, BJP hails his message

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks advocating unity in diversity and Hindu-Muslim coexistence in the US triggered a political clash in India. Opposition parties accused him of doublespeak, while BJP leaders praised his message as an authentic expression of Hinduism and tolerance

New Delhi: The Opposition on Sunday accused RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of indulging in doublespeak over his remarks on diversity in the US, even as the BJP hailed him, saying he has shown the world what Hinduism actually means. Addressing events in the US, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief said that unity in diversity is in Bharat’s DNA, underscoring that it must be celebrated, respected, and accepted.

He also said that if any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain a Hindu. The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and other opposition parties said Bhagwat should convey this to BJP leaders and outfits that “spread hatred between Hindus and Muslims”. Reacting to the remarks in the US, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said that Bhagwat should “stop lying” and alleged that the RSS’ DNA has “hatred and communalism”. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal took a swipe at Bhagwat, saying he was left wondering whether it was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi or the Sangh chief speaking.

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Sibal, a leading opposition voice and a senior advocate, hit out at Bhagwat, saying “you accept diversity abroad; you do not tolerate diversity at home”. TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said that a “chilling duplicity” was on display and asked Bhagwat not to be “intellectually and morally dishonest”. Make sure actions in India match words delivered abroad, she said.

“Shri Bhagwat speaks ‘acceptable’ language overseas but will the message be heard by the following in the @BJP4India @RSSorg Sangh Parivar: Bajrang Dal, whose vigilantes have bashed up Muslims and attacked Christian ceremonies, attack Christians and continue to do so with impunity. VHP, which looks for temples below mosques and wants India to be rid of mosques

“Hindutva groups like Sri Ram Sena who spew vile language against minorities. @BJP4India which doesn’t have a single Muslim MP in Lok Sabha and whose top leaders speak in grotesquely hateful tones against Muslims…,” she said on X.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also lashed out at the RSS chief. “This is the oldest trick in the RSS playbook: some words are for the world, and some are for its own members. The RSS has never disavowed its key thinkers and writers. What do they say about Muslims and other minorities?” Owaisi alleged the RSS opposes democracy and has consistently demanded a dictatorship. “For the RSS, Indian Muslims and Christians are ‘internal threats’ number one and two, respectively.

“Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts has a long chapter titled ‘Internal Threats’, in which Muslim and Christian citizens of India are described as threats number one and two, respectively,” Owaisi said. “My request to Bhagwat is that he should just recite choice extracts from the poisonous works of Savarkar, Hedgewar, Golwalkar, etc. Let people decide what they make of the RSS,” he said.

CPI(M) leader and former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that in New York, Mohan Bhagwat speaks of “one humanity”, equal dignity and a Hindutva that accepts every human being, but at home, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge is allegedly subjected to a “purification ritual in Haldwani because of his Dalit identity, while atrocities against Dalits and minorities are reported every day”.

The BJP leaders, however, hailed Bhagwat’s remarks and lauded his message from the US. Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that tolerance runs in the blood of Hindus, and it is a fundamental aspect of Hindutva.

“We never comment on what Mohan Bhagwat says. However, the principle being discussed here is absolutely correct. What is the soul of Hindutva? Tolerance. Hindu civilisation is the oldest in the world, and the reason for its endurance is that we kept our core values so strong; despite facing invasions from across the globe, we withstood them with tolerance and assimilated many of those invaders into our cultural stream.”

“Furthermore, India embraced those rejected by the rest of the world… That is why I always say: do not try to teach Hindus about religious tolerance. Tolerance runs in the blood of Hindus, and it is a fundamental aspect of Hindutva,” he told reporters in Nagpur when asked about Bhagwat’s remarks. BJP leader Mahesh Jethmalani hailed Bhagwat’s remarks and targeted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been critical of the RSS in the run-up to Bhagwat’s ongoing US visit.

“For the likes of Mamdani and his ilk, RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden literally came out of syllabus and knocked out the hate-peddling New York Mayor’s fake news factory. “Dr MohanBhagwat did something far more important in New York than answer his critics. He showed the world what Hinduism actually means,” Jethmalani said on X.

Bhagwat demolished the Western caricature of the Hindu civilisation that has been peddled for years, he said. BJP general secretary Smriti Irani also lauded Bhagwat’s remarks, saying, “Bharat shows the world that diversity does not divide us… it decorates our oneness, says Param Pujya Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat ji.” BJP leader and former Union minister Shahnawaz Hussain said Bhagwat gave a very important message from the US that everyone living in India will stay together.

Several opposition leaders accused Bhagwat of taking a different stand when abroad. AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said Bhagwat should convey this message on diversity to his chief ministers and leaders like Anurag Thakur and Kapil Mishra. “He should tell Hemanta Biswa Sarma, Yogi Adityanath and Suvendu Adhikari, who often make headlines with statements that spread hatred between Hindus and Muslims. If Mohan Bhagwat has truly had a change of heart, we welcome it,” Bhardwaj said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Bhagwat should make such a statement in India rather than in America. Congress leader and Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge attacked the RSS, saying that for 100 years, this unregistered organisation has propagated and continues to propagate the idea of a Hindu Rashtra in India.

“Yet, in America, @DrMohanBhagwat says: ‘If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu. If you call yourself Hindu, you must believe all paths are leading to the same goal’. Quite a transformation in language when the audience changes,” Kharge said.

Congress’ Shama Mohamed said, “My question to Mohan Bhagwat is: Why doesn’t he say this in India? His subsidiary organisations like VHP and Bajrang Dal attack Muslims day in and day out. They even attack Christmas celebrations. BJP governments use state machinery to harass Muslims, and their houses are bulldozed.” “Stop lying, Mr Bhagwat. We know what’s in the DNA of the RSS — hatred and communalism!” she said on X.

RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha said that if Madison Square can make the RSS chief discover that India belongs to all, “that wisdom should be brought back to India”. “The same lesson should be compulsory for every minister in Modi Ji’s Cabinet and every Chief Minister that India belongs to all Indians. Muslims are not guests in their own country. Jai Hind,” Jha said on X.

Addressing over 6,000 members of the Indian-American community and interfaith leaders at a mega rally at Infosys Theatre in the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Bhagwat gave a clarion call to embrace diversity and support communities. Bhagwat also addressed the One World: One Humanity Faith Leaders’ Summit in New York.