PM Modi is 'swayamsevak', but RSS does not control anyone: Mohan Bhagwat

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been its volunteer, the Sangh does not control any person or organisation that is doing independent work.

Bhagwat was speaking at an interaction with prominent members of the local community here.

"When the Sangh's name comes up, people think of Modi ji. Modi ji is our 'swayamsevak' (volunteer)...," he said. People also think of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) when somebody talks about the RSS, and there are swayamsevaks in that organization too and their thinking is similar, he added. "But these all are not the Sangh. They are doing their own work, the Sangh is doing its own independent work," he added. While the RSS and such organizations and persons (who have been RSS volunteers) have a connection, and sometimes the Sangh helps them for a good cause, "there is no control; there is neither direct control nor indirect control (over them)...," Bhagwat stressed. The RSS chief also said that Hinduism is not just a religion but a way of living.

It was a tradition that was nurtured by all creeds, castes and religions, he said.

Bhagwat arrived in Jabalpur for a four-day visit on Thursday after visiting Chhattisgarh and interacting with RSS functionaries there.