New Delhi: RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has stated that the organization has no official plan regarding Mathura and Kashi. However, if volunteers wish to protest, they will not be stopped. In an interview with a Kannada magazine, he warned against large-scale attempts to target all mosques and emphasized the need to avoid social discord.
When asked whether the RSS supports efforts to find temples beneath mosques, similar to the Ram Janmabhoomi case, Hosabale responded that the matter should be viewed in the context of the last 50 years. He noted that the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was initiated by saints and religious leaders, not the RSS. The organization only supported their efforts, considering it a cultural necessity.
He added that while some RSS volunteers are involved in movements related to three specific temples, the organization is not actively stopping them. However, he questioned whether it would be right to excavate 30,000 mosques to rewrite history, warning that such actions could deepen societal divisions.
Hosabale also highlighted contemporary issues like religious conversions, cow slaughter, and “love jihad,” stating that the RSS has never ignored these matters.
His statement has sparked strong reactions from opposition leaders. Congress MP Manickam Tagore criticized the BJP and RSS, stating that their temple-mosque politics failed to deliver the expected 400 seats in the elections, securing only 240 instead. He accused them of attempting to divide the nation. Meanwhile, MP Chandrashekhar Azad questioned whether the BJP and RSS lacked faith in the judiciary regarding the Mathura and Kashi disputes, urging them to wait for court rulings instead of making controversial statements.
