New Delhi: There is no fixed retirement age in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its chief Mohan Bhagwat said Thursday, while also putting an end to speculations around his and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exit from their respective offices once they turn 75 next month.
“I never said I will retire or someone should retire,” Bhagwat said explicitly responding to a series of questions in this regard during a lecture series here kickstarting the centenary celebrations of the RSS. “In the Sangh, we swayamsevaks are given a job whether we want it or not. So, if I am 80 years old, and the Sangh tells me ‘go run a shakha’, I will have to go. I cannot say ‘I have completed 75 years, I want to enjoy the retirement benefits’. There is no benefit in the Sangh,” he said.
“Even if I am 35 years old, and Sangh says, ‘you sit in the office’ we do whatever the Sangh tells us. We don’t say ‘I will do this’, ‘I want this’. That is not allowed,” he said. “We are not here for this because we do not want to accomplish anything.”
“You think I am the only one who can be the sarsanghchalak?” he asked. “There are at least 10 other people. They are sitting in this hall. Anytime they can take this mantle and carry on. But they are very busy, and their contribution is very valuable, and they cannot be spared. I was the one who could be spared,” he said amid laughter in the hall. “So, this is not for the retirement of anybody or myself. We are ready to retire anytime in life, and we are ready to work as long as the Sangh wants us to work,” he said.
In July this year, Bhagwat’s suggestion that one should retire at the age of 75 was seen by the Opposition as a veiled reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turns 75 next month. Bhagwat also turns 75 in September.
The Sangh had then said no “political colour” should be given his view.
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Struggles, no quarrels: On equation with BJP
When asked about the coordination between the BJP government and the RSS, Bhagwat said they have good coordination with all governments at the Centre and states.
Bhagwat said the impression that the RSS takes decisions on behalf of the BJP is wholly wrong. “If we had to decide, would it take so long?” he quipped, alluding to the delay in the appointment of the BJP president. “We don’t have to decide…take your time,” he said.
“Sab kuch Sangh tay karta hai, yeh poorntah galat baat hai. Yeh ho hi nahi sakta. Kyunki itne dinon se main 50 saal se shakha chala raha hoon. Toh koi mujhe shakha pe salah de toh main expert hoon, par who rajya chala rahe hai anek varshon se. Toh rajya ke baare mein expert woh hain. Meri expertise woh jaante hain, uski expertise main jaanta hoon. Toh iss maamle mein salah toh de sakte hain kyunki dekhne se bhi seekhte hain log. Parantu, decision toh uss field mein unka hai, iss field mein humara hai. Isliye hum tay nahi karte. Hum tay karte toh itna samay lagta kya?
(It is wholly wrong to say that the Sangh decides everything. This cannot happen. I have been running shakhas for 50 years. So, if anybody advises me on Shakhas…I am an expert on Shakhas. But they have been running the government for so many years. So, they are experts in that. They know my expertise, I know their expertise. So, we can give advice, but the decision in that field has to be theirs, and in this field it is ours. So, we don’t decide. If we had to, would it take so long?)” he asked, amid a peal of laughter from the audience.
There might be hurdles and struggles, but there are no quarrels anywhere, Bhagwat said on the question of conflict between the BJP and the RSS, adding it is very rare for everyone to be on the same page about everything.
“When we talk of compromise, the struggle deepens, so we say ‘okay, you have your own say, make the experiment, proceed on your lines. If you get the desired result, it will be accepted by us because we know our swayamsevaks work honestly,” he said. “They don’t believe in any -isms, even though there is some thought behind everything. So, the thing that yields results has to be accepted.”
There can be differences of opinion on certain issues (mat-bhed), but there is no conflict of the heart (mann bhed), he said. “We trust each other that the one who is making an effort, they are doing it authentically and selflessly,” he said. “Even if we walk separately, we will reach the same place.”
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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