Rahul seeks apology from RSS for 'insulting' remarks on Indian Army

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat should apologise for insulting the Indian Army in a speech he made on Sunday

Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a gathering at Muzaffarpur, Bihar yesterday, said the RSS could create an army within three days if need be, and that every RSS person was disciplined to sacrifice his/her life for the nation.

Gandhi said the RSS chief has insulted the army personnel and "Bhagwat should not only apologise to the Indian Army but also the Navy and the Air Force for making such a statement".

"He has made a wrong statement regarding those who protect our nation."

In a reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on the Congress chief's temple visits, Rahul Gandhi said Modi should not be talking about him but corruption prevailing in his government.

Gandhi said the Prime Minister must explain the people of Karnataka why his government's four ministers were in jail and 11 of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers resigned over corruption charges.

He said the Prime Minister needs to talk about the Rafale deal and explain "why its contract was taken away from the HAL and given to his friend".

While launching his party campaign at Hosapete in Ballari district, Rahul said the BJP had taken away employment opportunities from the youth of Karnataka by taking away the Rafale aircraft contract from Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a defence Public Sector Undertaking which has been making aircraft for the Indian Air Force for 70 years.

"The Prime Minister says every year that he will give employment to two crore youth. China gives employment to 50,000 youth in 24 hours; Narendra Modi gives employment to 450 people in 24 hours. This is the truth of the PM," he said in Raichur.

The Congress president said Corruption was the "biggest issue in India". He asked the Prime Minister to explain "how BJP president Amit Shah's son Jay Shah converted 50,000 into 80 crore when the country was going into losses due to demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax".

Rahul Gandhi also said that he liked going to temples and would continue doing that as it made him happy.