Former MP and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Working President R. Dhruvanarayan on Monday stuck to his stand on comparing Taliban with RSS.
Fielding reporter’s queries on his statement, which has evoked a sharp criticism from the BJP, he said a few features of Taliban and RSS were alike. “Both the organisations were proponents of religion. They have no commitment to secular values”, he said.
Recalling that RSS was banned after its activist Nathuram Godse had shot and killed Mahatma Gandhi, who had brought freedom to India, Mr. Dhruvanarayan said Taliban as well as RSS were both proponents of religion and had no faith in democracy. Also, just like the Taliban kept women away from the mainstream, the RSS yields no space for women, he said.
Mr. Dhruvanarayan said his remarks came after Mysuru MP Pratap Simha claimed that Taliban would have reared its head even in India without CAA. “Pratap Simha sought to target a particular community with his statement. So, I condemned it and said Taliban and RSS were alike”, the Congress leader said.
He said the BJP was opposing his statement because RSS is its frontal organisation.
Meanwhile, several BJP workers from H.D. Kote led by former Vice-President of H.D. Kote Taluk Panchayat B. Mallesh and BJP’s Mahila Morcha leader Bhagyalakshmi joined the Congress at a function held at the Congress Bhavan in Mysuru in the presence of Mr. Dhruvanarayan, H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu, Mahila Congress chief Pushpa Amarnath and Mysuru District Congress Committee President Vijaykumar.
Welcoming them, Mr. Dhruvanarayan said the Congress was a secular party, which stands by the underprivileged, dalits and backward classes in the society. He criticised the BJP leaders for spending their time issuing provocative statements instead of focussing on development of the society.
Mr. Chikkamadu said more BJP leaders from H.D. Kote would be joining the Congress in the coming days.
