Kejriwal targets Modi, asks 5 questions to RSS

New Delhi: In a new political strategy, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday posed five questions to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) regarding the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

These questions appear aimed at diminishing Modi’s stature and suggesting that the real power lies with the RSS, the Hindutva “mother” organization, which should keep him in check.

“Has the son grown so big that he is now showing arrogance towards his mother?” Kejriwal asked, directing the five questions to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a rally. While the questions are politically measured, the attempt to involve Bhagwat in this new political narrative is both novel and unusual.

Kejriwal sought to know whether the RSS endorsed the BJP’s use of central agencies to destabilize opposition parties and their governments, and whether it supported the party’s alleged recruitment of “corrupt” leaders.

In his first public appearance under the ‘Janata Ki Adalat’ initiative at Jantar Mantar after stepping down as Delhi Chief Minister, Kejriwal also questioned whether Bhagwat’s rules on retirement age should apply to Modi, just as they had to Advani.

In another pointed question, he asked how Bhagwat felt when BJP president J.P. Nadda declared that the BJP no longer needed the RSS.

“The RSS and BJP have established a rule that every leader must retire at the age of 75. Under this rule, leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Kalraj Mishra were retired. Now, (Home Minister) Amit Shah says that this rule does not apply to Modiji.”

As Kejriwal addressed the rally, the BJP staged a protest against the AAP over corruption allegations in Connaught Place, just a kilometre away from Jantar Mantar.