Jairam Ramesh targets RSS over Hosabale’s Pakistan remarks, links comments to recent
Jairam Ramesh targets RSS over Hosabale’s Pakistan remarks, links comments to recent US trip
M.U.H
13/05/202617
The Congress on Wednesday targeted RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale over his remarks advocating continued dialogue with Pakistan, claiming his recent visit to the US had influenced both him and the Sangh.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a video clip of Hosabale’s remarks from an interview with PTI Videos and took a swipe at the RSS leadership.
"It appears that the recent US trip of Shri Hosabale, during which one of his colleagues admitted to the PM doing what the US wanted him to do, has impacted him as well as the RSS," Ramesh said on X.
"Just imagine how the bhakt brigade including the various TV channels would have frothed, fumed and fulminated if..," he added.
In the interview, Hosabale said India should keep channels of communication open with Pakistan despite the trust deficit with its military and political leadership.
"The security and self-respect of a country have to be protected and the government of the day should take care of it. But at the same time, we need not close the doors. We should always be ready to engage them in a dialogue," he said.
Hosabale also stressed the importance of civil society engagement and people-to-people ties in improving relations between the two countries. He said such contact "should be tried more and more now".
The remarks came amid the RSS outreach efforts in the West during its centenary year celebrations. Hosabale recently toured the US and the UK, interacting with intellectuals, academics and members of the Indian diaspora to present the organisation’s vision and objectives.
During the visit, he addressed events at Stanford University in San Francisco and the Hudson Institute in Washington.
The Congress has repeatedly attacked the RSS over comments made by senior leader Ram Madhav during an event in the US. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had dubbed the RSS as "Rashtriya Surrender Sangh" and alleged that Madhav exposed the outfit’s "farzi (fake) nationalism" in India and "pure servility" in the US.
Madhav had reportedly said India agreed to stop buying oil from Iran and Russia and accepted higher US tariffs. However, he later apologised, calling his remarks "factually incorrect" and asserting that India neither agreed to stop Russian oil imports nor accepted the 50 per cent tariff imposed by the Trump administration.
Manish Tewari also takes a dig
Congress leader Manish Tewari also questioned what had changed since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack to justify calls for dialogue with Pakistan.
"What has materially changed between the 22nd of April 2025, when Pakistan-based and Pakistan-sponsored terrorists carried out the massacre of innocent citizens in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, which warrants that there should be a dialogue," Tewari told PTI.
"Has Pakistan given any indication that they will honour their earlier commitments given by their respective PMs and military leaders that Pakistan will not use terrorism as an instrument of state policy," he asked.
"So, you want to engage towards what purpose? Is it only because you are being nudged by some hyper power which is today beholden to Pakistan for all the wrong reasons that you need to open a dialogue with them," Tewari said, in an apparent reference to the US.
Asked about Hosabale's emphasis on people-to-people engagement, the former Union minister said, "Ultimately, there has to be a full spectrum engagement. The question is will people-to-people dialogue bring any modification in Pakistan's approach of using terrorist as an instrument of state policy. The answer is no."
"So, materially what has changed between Baisaran and now that the RSS is talking about an engagement with Pakistan," he asked.
