Oppn slams RSS chief Bhagwat for 'doublespeak'

The opposition parties criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat over his views on a range of issues and accused him of "doublespeak" while Muslim scholars welcomed his call for unity, saying misunderstandings should be removed from both sides.

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Projecting a benign and modern image of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bhagwat on Thursday said Islam will always have a place in India as he dismissed speculation about a rift with the BJP while asserting that Akhand Bharat is an immutable reality.

In a question-answer session lasting two-and-a-half hours, the RSS sarsanghchalak responded to questions ranging from Manusmriti to Artificial Intelligence (AI), tariffs, caste, education, patriotism, partition, illegal immigration, attacks on Muslims, and, most importantly, the age of retirement for politicians.

The Congress took a swipe at Bhagwat for his remarks that he had never said he would retire or that someone else should retire at 75, commenting that in over a month, he had made "contradictory statements".

"One month, one person, two contradictory statements," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, tagging media reports on Bhagwat's statement on Thursday and in July.