Hubballi (Karnataka) [India], August 16 : Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "felt bad" after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his Independence Day address.
The Union Minister remarked that appreciation of a "patriotic organisation like RSS" always unsettled the Congress and its allies.
Speaking to the mediapersons, Joshi said, "If a patriotic organisation like RSS is appreciated, then Siddaramaiah will naturally feel bad because they have their vote bank and the Muslim League, all those people will feel bad."
Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, in his speech on the 79th Independence Day from the Red Fort, hailed the 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.
Furthermore, Akhil Bharatiya Sah-Sampark Pramukh of the RSS, Pradeep Joshi, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was proud to be a member of the RSS. He also urged the opposition parties to understand the Sangh instead of criticising it.
Speaking to ANI about the organisation's role, Joshi said, "Prime Minister Modi is proud that he is a member of the RSS... The opposition should also try to understand the RSS... Even prominent former leaders of the opposition have praised the RSS many times, be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Motilal Nehru, Indira Gandhi... RSS is an organisation that works with discipline for the welfare of the nation... They have this information, but do not have the courage to say it."
Earlier in the day, RSS leader Ram Madhav had categorically asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are part of the same ideological family, and there is no friction between the two, as both organisations work in their respective fields of politics and social service.
When asked about certain doubts over possible "friction" between the two organisations in an interview with ANI, the RSS leader dismissed any such speculation and reiterated that the two organisations are united in regards to ideology and working for the development of the country, with BJP working in politics, and RSS working outside it for social service to the nation.
Meanwhile, Congress and other opposition parties are criticising PM Modi for mentioning the 100-year-old Sangh in his address. Congress leaders have called the mention of the organisation an "insult to the Constitution and tricolour.