New Delhi [India], August 15 : Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a "100% patriotic organisation" working for the benefit of the country and described it as the largest non-political organisation in the world.
Reddy said while speaking to ANI, "Whatever people may say, RSS is 100% a patriotic organisation working for the benefit of the country. It is the largest non-political organisation in the world. 140 crore people of India know what RSS stands for."
Reddy also took a jibe at Congress, noting that RSS does not require validation from Congress or any other political party.
He said, "On PM Modi mentioning RSS in his Independence Day speech, Union Minister G It is a committed organisation that works for India's welfare. It doesn't need a certificate from Congress or any other party."
Meanwhile on Friday, Opposition leaders came down heavily on PM Modi for his remarks during his Independence Day speech in which he hailed RSS for completing 100 years of service to the nation, describing it as the "biggest NGO in the world" and praising its century-long contribution to nation-building.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech "stale, hypocritical, insipid, and troubling."
He claimed that the Prime Minister mentioned the RSS in his address to appease the organisation, arguing that Modi "is now at their complete mercy and reliant on Mohan Bhagwat's good offices for an extension of his tenure post-September" when he turns 75.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised Sangh Parivar led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing them of "swadeshi by words but foreign by heart".
"When the first convention of the Bharatiya Janata Party was held, they decided that he would follow a secular and socialist path. But the path of the people of the Sangh Parivar is not secular and socialist. Yeh muh se toh swadeshi hai lekin mann se videshi hai (swadeshi by words but foreign by heart), "Akhilesh Yadav told reporters here.
RJD leader Manoj Jha criticised PM Modi's Independence Day address, saying it "disappoints every time" and questioned whether it was an election speech rather than a national address.
He added that a discussion on the RSS's role in India's freedom struggle would have been more appropriate from the Red Fort.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid demanded answers from RSS for not hoisting the Indian flag for 52 years after PM Modi made a reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh during his 79th Independence Day speech.