Bhagwat's comments on Mother Teresa blown out of context: RSS

Image
Press Trust of India Kolkata
Last Updated : Feb 28 2015 | 5:42 PM IST
In the wake of a storm over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwats's controversial remarks on Mother Teresa, RSS national prachar pramukh Manmohan Vaidya today said that Bhagwat's comments had been "blown out of context".
"Mohanji Bhagwat's comments on Mother Teresa were blown out of context. In media only one part of the comment was played. If you go through the entire comment you will get to know the truth," Vaidya said during an interaction with media persons here.
"There was a programme of free medical treatment for differently-abled people. There was an inauguration programme where Mohanji Bhagwat and former BSF DG Prakash Singh was present during the programme," he said.
"While speaking Prakash Singh at first had said that during his service tenure he had seen conversions were made in name of services in the north-east. Then from that context, Mohanji started speaking and a small part of his comment were shown and not the entire part.
He never said that Mother Teresa tried to convert those whom she served. If you had heard the entire comment in YouTube you would have known the truth and the real meaning of what he tried to say," Vaidya said.
He said that those who are opposing RSS are actually afraid of the growth of RSS and are unable to counter the Sangh ideologically.
"Those who are indulging in maligning us as a communal outfit are basically unable to counter us ideologically. So they are accusing us of being a communal outfit," Vaidya said.
The RSS chief had come under fierce attack from Christian institutions and non-BJP parties for his remarks on Mother Teresa that also reverberated in Parliament where the Opposition sought to target the Government.
Bhagwat had said that conversion to Christianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa's service to the poor.
"Mother Teresa's service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian," he said at an event in Bharatpur.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Feb 28 2015 | 5:42 PM IST

Next Story