Hazare failed to recognise workers’ contribution:

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday slammed social activist Anna Hazare for failing to acknowledge that its workers had played an “active role” in his nationwide crusade against corruption last year, though the Sangh itself was not part of the civil society agitation.

“It is a fact that the Sangh workers in individual capacity did play an active role in the anti-corruption crusade by the civil society headed by Hazare... It baffles me as to why the former did not acknowledge the fact,” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told reporters.

Though the RSS had not directed its workers to join the civil society’s crusade on corruption, a large number of them did take an active part in the agitation throughout the country on their own volition, he said.

However, it baffled him when the Gandhian did not acknowledge the role of the Sangh workers in his anti-corruption movement when the Congress attacked Mr. Hazare for soliciting RSS support on corruption issue, Mr. Bhagwat said.

Mr. Bhagwat, however, clarified that the RSS was not part of the civil society agitation on the corruption issue even as it shared similar views and had adopted a resolution on the issue in March last year.

The RSS leader said that corruption in the political system could not be addressed merely by taking stringent action against corrupt public servants.

Other remedies like electoral reforms and making the system transparent and accountable should also be considered to usher in good governance in the country.

Mr. Bhagwat clarified that it was not the RSS’ decision to make Nitin Gadkari the BJP national president but it had merely played the role of a facilitator when senior BJP leaders had met him to find a replacement for Rajnath Singh after the debacle in the 2009 General Election.

“Some senior BJP leaders had called me to discuss the future of the party leadership following the debacle in the 2009 parliamentary polls... The names of a number of leaders were discussed for the BJP president’s post with Gadkari being among the names,” the RSS chief told reporters.

“It was the BJP leaders’ call to select Gadkari as the BJP president,” he said adding the Sangh had merely played the role of a facilitator.

The RSS flayed people giving communal colour to those accused being tried in terror cases and said that comments should be made only after charges against such persons could be proved in the courts first.

“There is no such thing as Hindu militants... prove the charges first before giving communal colour to terror cases accused,” the RSS Sarsanghchalak said.

He was responding to a question eliciting his stand on the accusations being made by critics linking the Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blast cases accused to upsurge of Hindu militancy.