NEW DELHI, July 17: Even as the government and the ruling party has so far refrained from attacking the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan for blaming the “RSS ideology” for the suspension of dialogue between the two countries, the opposition leaders have slammed the cricketer-turned-politician for the uncalled for reference.
A day after Khan blamed the RSS for the India-Pakistan stalemate, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the entire country believed in that ideology that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India. “What is the ideology of RSS? That Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India, it is true. This is the sentiment of the people of the whole country as well,” Raut said.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh too slammed the comment and said the talks were stalled because the Imran Khan government is protecting terrorists. “As long as Pakistan government led by Imran Khan continues to give protection to those who sent terrorists to Mumbai, talks will continue to be stalled and there will be distrust between the countries,” the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.
Imran Khan, who was in Tashkent to attend the Central-South Asian Conference, was asked about India, Pakistan talks. “I want to tell India that we are waiting for a long time to live in a civilised manner. But what will we do as the ideology of RSS has created an obstruction,” the Pakistan Prime Minister said in reply evading a question on the Taliban.
This is not the first time that Imran Khan alluded to RSS ideology. “Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed,” Imran Khan had tweeted in February 2020, after the Delhi riot.
This time, his comment at a time when an Indian photojournalist has been killed by the Taliban has drawn sharp reactions. “Who are the creators of Taliban? It is Pakistan. The whole world has to bear the brunt of the terrorism that Pakistan has spread with the help of the Taliban, so don’t trust Imran Khan,” Raut said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
