Bhagwat inaugurated the five-day exercise by reciting the famous “Nazm” by Dr. Allama Iqbal. “Unan-o-Misr-o-Ruma sab mit gaye jahan se, Ab tak magar hai baaqi naam-o-nishan hamara, Kuch baat hai ki hasti mit ti-nahi hamari, Sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zaman hamara”. He further said why we are alive – the credit goes to our religion. Religion does not mean community but religion means the concept which binds us together.

Bhagwat will participate in an “informal talk over conditions prevailing in the country” with senior functionaries of RSS and BJP between January 5 and 7 say sources. The RSS local unit, in a press release said the organisation’s volunteers will gather from across the country to participate in the ‘informal talk’ where no policy decision will be taken or proposal will be passed. In the meeting, national functionary of RSS will share their experience in the best interest of society and the country.

Sources said that the gathering will discuss the ongoing protest over Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In the evening he visited a local temple and inaugurated a rest house their. Speaking on the occasion he said “We are taking self to oblivion due to unsafe boundaries and fall in values. The country will be governed well, if I, my world and my family will be fine. Our culture started deteriorating when Dronacharya started working in Rajdarbar. “Our method of working could be different, but we are all united. Today, it is of utmost requirement that all the components of society unite” the RSS chief said.

After the conclave the RSS with the cooperation of like-minded organisations will hold rallies in various towns. Besides RSS leaders important BJP functionaries will also address public meetings. Among BJP leaders party president and Home Minister will also hold a public meeting at Jabalpur.

Meanwhile a booklet released by Congress Sevadal caused a furore in the state. Sevadal distributed controversial literature on Veeer Savarkar in Bhopal. The book titled “Veer Savarkar: Kitne Veer?” was distributed among Sevadal workers, who have gathered here from across the country for a 12-day camp. Sevadal national president Lalji Desai called RSS an ‘anti national organisation’ since it does not respect either the country’s Constitution or the national flag”.

“When we distributed literature on Savarkar, the intention was to tell our workers the truth about the freedom movement – that there is a huge difference between Congress’s patriotism and BJP’s ideology of polarizing people” Sevadal state president Satyendra Yadav told media.

The literature distributed at the Sevadal camp quotes books on Savarkar to call him “a person with communal mentality which culminated in the Hindutva philosophy”.

“This ideology was meant to divide, which would divert attention of Hinds from the British and focus it on Muslims”. The book calls RSS a “communal organisation, loyal to the British”.

The book claims that Savarkar’s take on the cow was quite different from the present consideration of RSS and BJP. “He (Savarkar) wrote in “Vigyan Nishtha nibandh” that cow protection should be only because of its utility to man, not for the divinity or purity. According to him, this kind of mentality destroys the knowledge of the nation. Cow is nothing but the nation’s ‘dugdh-bindu (milk unity’) it sys.

State Congress spokesman Durgesh Sharma supported Sevadal’s claims saying “If not honouring the Constitution or national flag is sedition, then why is RSS not an anti-national organisation? Savarkar was part of the freedom movement till 1909 but after his arrest in 1910, he apologised nine times and thereafter worked for the British. Since 2014 we are seeing a conscious effort to glorify the country’s first terrorist, Nathuram Godse, and prove him a patriot. Sevadal is trying to take the truth about BJP-RSS ‘patriotism’ to the people through its activities”.

Following discovery of involvement of some government servants in honeytrap scandal a demand has been made for the removal of staff attached with Ministers. Besides their involvement in honeytrap it is also discovered that many of them were attached with former BJP Ministers. Many Ministers have also discovered that they were still maintaining links with former BJP Ministers.

It spurred several ministers to replace those of their personal staff named as honeytrap victims, those accused of corruption and irregularities or those perceived as too close to the erstwhile BJP government. Sources said that food and civil supplies minister Pradyuman Singh Tomar and mining minister Pradeep Jaiswal have already written to the CM and general administration department to change their personal staff, Minister Govind Singh has already shifted his staff.

Around 10 other ministers have asked for their staff to be replaced. Some have voiced concern that officials close to the previous saffron government could damage the image of Congress and the Kamal Nath government unless they are shunted immediately, say sources. Congress leaders allege that staff member of a minister faces allegations of corruption from the time he was posted in Khargone.

Congress state in-charge Deepak Babria and the CM secretariat have taken note of the ministers’ demands, say sources. “Congress ministers should have known that babus close to the previous BJP government should have been shunted out. It’s good that several ministers have realised and sought replacement of their personal staff after the exposure of two OSDs in the scam. The Congress government will make a note of this for the future too” party state legal cell in-charge JP Dhanopia told mediamen. (IPA Service)