The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Tuesday refuted reports that its ongoing meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including national party president Amit Shah, was a coordination meeting, PTI reported.
Arun Kumar, the RSS functionary in charge of communication, said it was an exercise to exchange ideas. “These are not samanvay [coordination] meetings, neither are they decision-making meetings,” Kumar said.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Joint General Secretary Krishna Gopal chaired the meeting that was also attended by BJP Vice-President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, General Secretary Ram Madhav and Secretary Ram Lal. Union ministers Rajyavardhan Rathore, JP Nadda, Maneka Gandhi, Mahesh Sharma, Prakash Javadekar and Thawarchand Gehlot represented the government.
Kumar said RSS groups occasionally meet to share their experiments, experiences and observations on seva (service), vaicharik (intellectual), arthik (economy), shiksha (education), samajik (social) activities. This year’s meeting started on Monday in Delhi and will conclude on Wednesday.
The RSS has always claimed to be a cultural organisation that has distanced itself from the machinations of the government. It is the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in power at the Centre.
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