Rahul Gandhi equates RSS with SIMI

BHOPAL - Launching a no holds barred attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Wednesday branded the sangh parivar outfit as “fanatical” and equated it with the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

“I know only that both the SIMI and the RSS are fanatical and hold fundamentalist views,” Gandhi told reporters here.

His remarks come a few days after the Allahabad High Court’s Ayodhya verdict which has set off speculation that the Sangh Parivar may revive the Ram temple movement.

Political circles see Gandhi’s statement aimed at defending its Muslim base, especially in view of the coming Bihar polls.

The Congress leader said that it did not matter much to him whether the RSS was a banned outfit or not. He was responding to questions on how he could compare the Sangh Parivar organisation with a banned outfit.

Gandhi asserted that there can be no room for people with extremist views in the Youth Congress.

Gandhi said he did not believe in destiny when reporters said it was his destiny to become Indian prime minister. “It may be your assumption that I will become the prime minister but it is certainly not mine.”

Praising Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for “doing a fine job”, he said: “We have a very capable prime minister. He is much more capable than me. He is on the job. My responsibilities are the Youth Congress and the NSUI (National Students Union of India)and I am doing that.”

On the Ayodhya verdict, the Amethi MP said the court did not condone the demolition of the Babri Masjid Dec 6, 1992. Neither did it justify the mayhem that followed the demolition.

Gandhi pointed out that the rival parties in the Ayodhya dispute had the right to knock the doors of the Supreme Court in appeal.