By Arun Srivastava
As September 11 is approaching the day RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat will turn 75- the retirement deadline set by the RSS, there is a big commotion and also excitement in the RSS ecosystem. They are all eager to know whether Bhagwat will finally end his term on September 11 and ask others to follow him which also includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will turn 75 on September 17.
Senior BJP leaders and also of RSS assert that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seldom makes a casual remark. His remarks are often loaded and are of far reaching consequences. Obviously the book launch event where Bhagwat made the suggestion that individuals should step aside from public life after turning 75 has much political importance. It is the implication of the remark that has pushed the saffron ecosystem deep in speculative quagmire of uncertainty.
Leaders of both the organisations, RSS and BJP, are virtually transfixed. They are hooked to make the sense of Bhagwat’s observation: Pingle had said you gave me a shawl at 75, but I know what that means. When someone is felicitated at 75, it means: now your time is up, now step aside and let us do the work”. Saffron leaders feel that he could have made this observation on some other occasion. Why he chose release of the book “ Moropant Pingale: The Architect of Hindu Resurgence” has surprised the saffron leaders. Nonetheless Bhagwat did not specifically mention the name of Modi who would be completing 75 years on September 17.
Though some leaders are unwilling to believe that Bhagwat would step down on September 11, a section of the senior leaders hold the view that his remark is testimony to the fact he has made up his mind to quit. If he has not reached a final decision, he would not have spoken his mind in public. They are sure of Bhagwat quitting the office on that day, unless some extraordinary situation crops up.
It is not Bhagwat has come out with this suggestion. Before that, RSS chief KS Sudarshan had publicly asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, the two faces of the BJP then, to make way for younger leaders in 2005. This had triggered a debate inside the party. Incidentally after becoming PM, Modi used this to push L K Advani and other senior leaders out of organisation. Saffron leaders are sure of Bhagwat stepping down after turning 75 to mount pressure on Modi to follow his example. Sangh as well as BJP leaders were of the view that Bhagwat should set an example himself and perhaps he will do that.
Some senior RSS leaders nevertheless hold the view that they should wait for some more time. The Lok Sabha polls are due in 2029. Upto that Modi can be allowed. He should give way to another leader as PM after his 15 year tenure. If Modi still wants to remain, the RSS should compel him to resign. Now all depends on how Bhagwat looks at this move which has got wide support in BJP leadership.
However an insight into the nature and character of the war of attrition and the manner in which it is being fought, would unravel the truth that actual reason is quite different and has deep societal implication. One development is quite perceptible. While Modi loyalists are using all weapons at their command to create an impression that Modi should continue in power, on the contrary not even a single RSS top leader has come out endorsing his suggestions. They are simply in the mode of “wait and watch” and “who will move out first”. RSS is for overhaul of the BJP. The RSS desires to de-Modify the BJP and also the saffron ecosystem. They hold that under Modi the BJP has lost vitality and accountability.
RSS, the political organisation of the Maharashtrian Brahmins is engaged in bitter struggle for supremacy against the BJP’s Gujarati OBC leaders. On its part the Gujarati lobby is using the language issue to isolate the RSS and BJP Maratha leaders. Maharashtra had witnessed fierce struggle between Gujarati leaders and Maharashtrian lobby. In recent times the rift between the two has widened. The word “Deccan” is being used to identify the Maharashtrian saffron cadres. .
Though saffron leaders do not publicly accept the philosophy of class struggle, the clash between the Maharashtrian Brahmins and Gujarati OBC leaders has intensified in recent years. The Gujarati leadership is determined to control the saffron ecosystem and finish the Brahminical dominance was manifest in his first ever move to sideline veterans and sending them to Marg Darshak Mandal just after becoming the prime minister. Modi’s subsequent moves like projecting himself as the supreme leader and not denying space to even other senior leaders, has been testimony to his design.
Though RSS has been striving to enroll Dalits and Adivasis in the organisation and convert them to Hindus, the fact remains that it never treated them as the primary components of RSS. This clash of class has also made a section of the RSS and BJP ground level cadres and leaders to question the claim of party with a difference. They point out when the BJP was floated in 1980, the founding leaders and especially the RSS leaders who were associated with the formation, had claimed it to be a party with difference. The myth has been exposed within 45 years of its existence. On the contrary the Congress which was formed at least 140 years ago, in 1885, still continues to adhere to its ethics, notwithstanding feudal and rich people still continuing to have their say.
The Brahmins and Lingayats of Karnataka, like their Maharashtra counterparts do not like Gujarati duo for their attempt to turn Karnataka as the mulching cow of Gujarat. Only in 2023, the centre had desperately tried to shut the local milk producing cooperative Nandhini and bring in Gujarat based Amul to Karnataka. This was severely resented by the Brahmins and farmers of Karnataka and they resolved not to sell their milk to Amul. It is quite interesting to note that Modi has been pushing Adani, not any other industrialist, in all the states, across the country, and help him set up his industries in the states. (IPA Service)
