Hindu Mahasabha chief slams Rahul Gandhi's RSS quip: 'Lost his mind due to sea exposure'

Slamming Rahul Gandhi's remark on RSS, Hindu Mahasabha president Swami Chakrapani on Wednesday, said that the ex-Congress chief had insulted the nation. Condemning Gandhi's comparison of Saraswati Shishu Vidyalaya to Pakistan's Madarsas, he said that Gandhi's mind was affected due to 'prolonged exposure to sea'. Urging Congress High command to treat Rahul Gandhi, he said that the nation needs a 'healthy Opposition'.

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"Rahul Gandhi's statement is very objectionable. The entire country is insulted. One, he compared Saraswati Shishu Vidyalaya to Pakistan's Madarssas, said Chakrapani. He added, "Rahul fell victim to 'confusion of mind'. As he stayed in the sea for a long time in Kerala, scientifically his brain will get affected.  The sea water is salty, and this is the effect of jumping in the sea. Congress supremo should get them treated in Agra and Ranchi. The country wants good healthy opposition."

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Rahul Gandhi on RSS

On Tuesday,  former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is attacking the higher education institutions in the country through their schools and likened them to "madrasas used by radical Islamists in Pakistan", in an interview with Cornell University Professor Kaushik Basu. He alleged that it is doing something "fundamentally different" and filling up the institutions of the country with its people. "So, even if we defeat the BJP in the election, we are not going to get rid of their people in the institutional structure," he said.

"As you said, higher education. In fact, the whole education system is being targeted. Re-writing of history. Subtle re-writing of social norms. Subtle attacks on the idea of the constitution. A subtle attack on the idea of equality. These are values India just requires. Modern India cannot exist without these values. So, absolutely you need to reclaim this space. What is going on is essentially an attack on the idea of equality. And by the way, RSS began the attack through their schools," Rahul said while responding to a question from a history professor. 

Gandhi drew severe ire from several BJP and VHP leaders who stated that the former Congress chief was just trying to create controversy 'to stay in news'. Moreover, the RSS-backed the Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shikha Sansthan, which runs Vidyabharati schools across the country, said that its institutions have been praised by renowned academics on several occasions and it aims to build a 'capable generation of patriots and dedication towards society by rising above the caste, creed, community'. The statement further added that around 80,000 Muslim and Christian students study in Vidyabharati schools, suggesting the inclusiveness of the institution, unlike radical madrasas. 

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