Delhi Confidential: When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat batted for secularism

Speaking at a book launch on Wednesday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat batted for secularism by narrating a conversation he had with former President, late Pranab Mukherjee. Bhagwat said he had sought an appointment with Mukherjee and was allotted 10 minutes. However, a ruckus erupted in Parliament over ‘ghar wapsi’. “I thought Pranab da would not meet me but I was told that my appointment was on. I prepared myself for a grilling since all fingers were pointing at us. But he asked why people were talking about unity in diversity now. He said we have been secular for 5,000 years,” Bhagwat said.

Entertainment Session

After BJP MP Sunny Deol’s film Gadar 2 was screened in Parliament in August, the upcoming session in the new Parliament building will have MPs watching an animated series on the unsung heroes of India’s freedom struggle, especially women and tribals. Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday launched the trailer of “Bharat Hain Hum”, which will be showcased on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix as well as government-run Doordarshan, simultaneously. The series is being produced in 12 Indian languages, and will also be dubbed in several international languages.

No Escape

BJP national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam on Wednesday faced a barrage of questions on the Israel-Palestine situation as he talked to reporters about the economy being in the “pink of health”. Steering clear of the topic, he said he was there to talk on specific issues concerning the economy and other matters could be raised on another day. Pat came a new question: “how would the Israel-Palestine conflict affect the Indian economy as oil prices could soar”? He replied that this would not happen and the economy would do well. Then came another question: “since Israel was one country and oil-rich Arab nations were many, should India stand with Arab nations for the sake of the economy”? Zafar Islam chose not to make any specific comment beyond what the Prime Minister had tweeted on October 7, hours after the sudden, multi-front attack on Israel by Hamas. This brought the meeting to an end.