Nadda on BJP-RSS ties: We have grown, more capable now… the BJP runs itself

BJP national president J P Nadda has said that the party has grown from the time it needed the RSS and is now “saksham” (capable) and runs its own affairs. The RSS, he said, is an “ideological front” and does its own work.

In an interview to The Indian Express – the full interview will be published Sunday – Nadda, responding to a question on how the RSS presence has changed between the time of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now, said, “Shuru mein hum aksham honge, thora kum honge, RSS ki zaroorat padti thi… Aaj hum badh gaye hain, saksham hai… toh BJP apne aap ko chalati hai (In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. The BJP runs itself). That’s the difference.”

Asked if the BJP does not need RSS support now, Nadda said, “See, the party has grown and everyone has got their own duties and roles. RSS is a cultural and social organisation and we are a political organisation… It’s not the question of need. It’s an ideological front. Woh ideologically apna kaam karte hain, hum apna. We are managing our affairs in our own way. And that’s what political parties should do.”

During the course of the interview, the BJP president spoke on a range of issues – from the Prime Minister’s development agenda to the BJP’s southern push, the Constitution to actions of probe agencies against political leaders.

Nadda denied that the BJP had any plans for temples at the disputed sites in Mathura and Kashi.

“The BJP does not have any such idea, plan or desire. There are no discussions either. Our system works in a way in which the party’s thought process is set by the discussions in the Parliamentary board, then it goes to the national council which endorses it,”