RSS Pricks BJP's Conscience

It was Dattatreya Hosabale, sarkar­ ya vah (general secretary) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who first stirred up the pot on October 2, highlighting some disturbing figures on the poverty, inequality and unemployment situation in the country.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

Three days later, RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat touched on the same issues during his customary Vijayadashami address but in the larger context of encouraging the youth to become entrepreneurs rather than job-seekers. With Hosabale’s comments becoming headline news, there were rumours yet again that the Sangh and the BJP government at the Centre are not on the same page on the direction the economy is taking. Eyebrows were also raised about the timing of the comments, especially after Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh attributed them to the “impact” of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

It’s no secret that job creation remains one of the toughest challen ges before the Narendra Modi government. Indeed, many of his cabinet ministers have been at pains to highlight the post-Covid “recovery” of the economy (the latest conceit being how India has become the world’s fifth largest economy, overtaking the UK). What the RSS leaders have done is train the spotlight back on the jobs crisis. BJP leaders, though, are trying to make light of the criticism, saying Hosabale’s comments are nothing new, and that “these challenges were raised in speeches by the PM himself”.