'No manbhed': Mohan Bhagwat on BJP-RSS ties; addresses next BJP chief question

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said there is no rift between the Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said the Sangh can give advice on any issue, but the final decision will be taken by the BJP.

The RSS chief said there could be "difference of opinion" while working towards the goals of the country, but there was no “manbhed (heart-to-heart differences)”.


"There are opinions, but we discuss and form a consensus to decide whether it is against one's opinion or in favour of it. I will follow the collective decision. When that nature is there, quarrel doesn't exist. There can be matbhed (difference of opinion) here, but no manbhed (heart-to-heart disagreement). We need to move forward in one direction, and not different ones," Bhagwat said during a three-day lecture series to mark the centenary year of the RSS.



Bhagwat said the Sangh has good coordination with the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, as it did with earlier governments.

"We have good coordination with every government, be it state or central. Not only this one. But there are systems that have some internal contradictions. The system (of governance) in general is the same, which was invented by the British so that they could rule. We need some innovation... even if the man in the chair is 100 per cent behind us, he has to do it, and he knows what the hurdles are. He may be able to do it, he may not. But we have to give him independence. There is no quarrel anywhere," he said.

On the selection of the BJP president, Bhagwat said the RSS has no role. "It’s completely wrong," he said, responding to a question on whether the Sangh decides everything for the BJP including its chief.

"We don't decide. If we were deciding, would it have taken so long. We don’t do (decide). We don’t have to. Take your time. We don’t have to say anything," he said, drawing applause from the audience.



He added that it is not possible for the RSS to take decisions for the BJP.

The BJP, he said, has its own expertise in running political affairs, just as the RSS has in managing its shakhas.

"I am running shakhas for last 50 years. If anyone advices me on running a shakha, then I am its expert. They are running state (government) for many years. So they are expert in state affairs. We know each others’ expertise," Bhagwat said.

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