New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijayadashami address, saying the change the opposition wants is a change of government through democratic means.
He rejected Bhagwat's comparison with unrest in other countries as a "bogey". He also raised an ITBP chief's statement on Arunachal Pradesh and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to India.
Addressing a press conference, Sibal said Bhagwat's speech on October 20 expressed concern about "regime change" in India and compared it to events in Nepal, Bangladesh and France.
"What India wants is a change of government through democratic means. I think Mohan Bhagwat understands that but is not willing to acknowledge it," he said.
Sibal said violent uprisings abroad could not be compared with peaceful protests in India.
"All the young people who came out in Jantar Mantar one held peaceful protests. None of them had lathis, guns or stones. They went on a hunger strike," he said.
He alleged that any violence was caused by "outside agencies", pointing to a truck found with stones. "Nobody has yet inquired where that truck came from, because law and order here is under the control of the Union through the Lieutenant Governor," he said.
He said the RSS had itself been part of an earlier change of power. "The RSS was an active participant in a regime change when it supported Kejriwal. UPA fell from power through a legal process. Modi ji came to power, and we have suffered 12 years under him," he said.
In his view, the RSS has benefited from the present government and so does not criticise it. "You never blame the Modi government or the state governments where you are in power, because there is a conflict of interest. You keep your eyes shut," he said.
Sibal also alleged a change in the style of governance since 2014. "It is a change where you arrest young people, where you arrest opposition leaders, where governors are in your pocket, where you destabilise elected governments," he said.
He said the real issues are being ignored. "The cockroach Janata Party got birth here, and their fundamental concern was the school system. They went from school to school and showed the miserable state of education. Mohan Bhagwat, you kept quiet," he said.
Asked about foreign forces being blamed for unrest, he said, "It is the middle-class children who don't get employment and the poor who don't get opportunities. Do you think we, as ordinary citizens opposing this government, are being fed by foreign forces?"
Sibal also referred to a statement by the Director General of the Indian Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on skirmishes in Arunachal Pradesh and the possible Chinese occupation of Indian territory. He alleged that the statement had been removed from YouTube.
"You can remove his statement from YouTube. You can't remove those people who have occupied our territory," he said. He asked why the RSS had stayed silent on incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and Eastern Ladakh.
On the US, Sibal criticised the manner of Rubio's visit, which included Mumbai and Jamnagar, where a $300 billion announcement was made.
"Can you imagine our foreign minister going to a state in the US, and the Secretary of State goes there to meet him, and he doesn't meet the president? It is very demeaning," he said. He added that the announcement that 99 per cent of a trade deal was complete "raises issues about our own ability to chart our own course to make our nation great."
He said Vijayadashami effigies should have been of the wrong targets. "You blame the cockroach Janata Party and burn their effigy at Vijayadashami. If you were a true Indian, you would burn the effigy of the Chanda Chors," he said.
He recalled Bhagwat's remark that real independence came with the Ram Mandir consecration, and said, "If this is what that real independence did, then those are the real Ravans."On the 57 FIRs registered between October 2 and 23 and transferred to the Crime Branch, some against unknown persons and others naming opposition leaders, Sibal said police had followed this pattern before. "They register an FIR without naming anyone. Then they take statements from one person, then another, false statements, then record old-style Section 161 CrPC statements and add the name of the person they want to target. They try to spread fear. But there are courts, and we believe the courts will do their duty," he said.," he said.
Concluding, Sibal said, "I think the people of India have decided there will be change, and it will happen most peacefully. Only time will tell."
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday (20 October) alleged that “demonic forces” were making efforts to break India, Hindus and the Sangh, describing these efforts as “dismantling”, amid repeated protests by opposition parties and student organisations over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Addressing the RSS centenary Vijayadashami Utsav at Reshimbagh ground in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, Bhagwat spoke about attempts to change regimes, alleged efforts to weaken India, Hindus and the Sangh, and the need to ensure that protests and political actions did not create divisions in society.
He further alleged that forces seeking to weaken India were trying to break the country, Hindus and the RSS, and were receiving support from people driven by political ambition. (ANI)
“Change of government through democratic means is what India wants”: Kapil Sibal hits back at Bhagwat's 'regime change' remarks
