The RSS expresssed its strong view on the BJP leadership at a recent meeting of its provincial organisers in Surat.
Rahul claimed that the Assam CM has taken land in Kaziranga National Park.
Top ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders joined a crucial three-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates that began in New Delhi on Wednesday to brainstorm over key social and economic issues including those confronting the Modi government.
Amid allegations of dubious funding for companies run by BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday distanced itself from the controversy saying it has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding him.
Gandhi's remarks come amid repeated attacks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Congress manifesto bears a 'Muslim League imprint'.
Indications that Gandhi could be invited came on a day the RSS criticised him for drawing parallels between the Sangh and Islamic radical outfit Muslim Brotherhood.
Ravinder Gosain, 60, was returning home after attending a morning drill at RSS shakha when he was attacked.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
He said RSS men were planted in each ministry.
Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh on Saturday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the latter's decision to nominate Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, saying the party has succumbed to threats from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and wondered if the Sangh could still call itself a "cultural organisation".
The Opposition MP pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and UPA government off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a political row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party latched on to them, accusing the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil.
It was almost as if we were back to 'acchey din', when Parliament was a forum where two sides fought ferociously as equals. For that we need to thank Rahul Gandhi, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Addressing a large gathering of RSS at the organisation's local headquarters in Lucknow on Sunday, Bhagwat said, "RSS never indulges in political activity, so where was the question of my playing a role in the appointment of BJP chief."
The feisty TMC boss also accused the CPI-M of ruining her party's relationship with the Congress, its ally in the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday dismissed the controversy over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's reported remarks in which he rated Bihar ahead of Gujarat in good governance, saying the statement was "manufactured by the media".
BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who has drawn criticism from within the party for his alleged hate speech in Pilibhit during the Lok Sabha polls, today met state RSS leaders in Lucknow.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
'Bhagwat, aware of the advantages of keeping the BJP in power, is wary about the RSS taking steps that would undermine the popular standing of either the PM or the party.'
The work we have done in the south and the northeast over the last 10 years under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, we have started getting results of the same, he said.
In his nearly 80-minute long speech on the first day of the three-day conclave, Bhagwat also asserted that RSS is "most democratic" and not dictatorial, insisting that it neither imposes its ideology nor remote-controls its various affiliates, apparently rejecting criticism that the Bharatiya Janata Party is controlled by it.
With elections elsewhere in India showing that multi-pronged contests usually work to the BJP's favour, the party can gain if it hangs on stubbornly. In the meantime, any additional support helps. That is why the archbishop's comment attracted political traction in Kerala, observes Shyam G Menon.
Several workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) barged into the Congress's Pune city headquarters on Friday and attempted to blacken the photographs of party leader Rahul Gandhi to protest against his remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, police said.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh described as shocking and unfortunate BJP patriarch L K Advani's resignation from all party posts over Narendra Modi's elevation as its campaign committee chief, noting all is not well in the saffron party.
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch has decided to organise at least 50 meetings with minority community members in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly polls next year.
The state police have called the scheduled rallies, support for which has been mainly garnered over social media platforms, as "illegal" and "unauthorised", and said they have taken necessary precautions to allay apprehensions about potential law and order situations during the march.
The RSS also described Modi's comments as a 'positive step' towards the temple construction.
He will be around for another crack at the elections, and a clear majority, predicts Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
If the party's members aren't sure what it stands for, see no path to wealth or power, and endure control by a dynasty, which, almighty as it is within the party, cannot get them the votes, they are likely to explore options, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra shared on Twitter a purported video clip of BJP's former MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja, who is allegedly seen admitting his supporters have so far 'lynched five people'.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Harda on April 24, Modi praised Chouhan saying the two had served together in the party organisation and also as chief ministers.
The Opposition's stand on the Ayodhya consecration is puzzling. Their only objection seems to be that the BJP has hijacked a religious event for political benefit. In saying this, the Opposition is either being naive or hypocritical, argues Jyoti Punwani.
'There was a period when they questioned the flag and there were questions also against the Constitution.' 'That's long past.'
Gandhi said that in contrast, women work at every level in the Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's action against its two members for their controversial comments against Prophet Mohammed cap a series of statements from its top brass and also Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat that sought to distance their organisations from shrill and combative religious rhetoric, even as it has brought to fore the conflict within their wide sphere of support.
However, in reality, Mukherjee neither wore a cap nor did he give any salute.
Former chief minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday asked his party BJP's State president Nalin Kumar Kateel to refrain from making disparaging remarks against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The Sangh has let it be known that a 'social' outfit called the Hindu Yuva Vahini, set up years ago by Yogi, did not have its approval.
