Congress targets RSS over Hosabale’s remarks on dialogue with Pakistan

The Indian National Congress (INC) on Wednesday criticised senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Dattatreya Hosabale over his remarks advocating continued dialogue with Pakistan, claiming his recent visit to the United States had influenced both him and the organisation.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at the RSS functionary after a video clip surfaced of Hosabale speaking in an interview with PTI Videos about maintaining channels of communication with Pakistan.

“It appears that the recent US trip of Shri Hosabale, during which one of his colleagues admitted to the PM doing what the US wanted him to do, has impacted him as well as the RSS,” Ramesh wrote in a post on X.

He also suggested that supporters of the ruling establishment and sections of television media would have reacted sharply had similar remarks been made by leaders outside the ideological fold of the RSS.

In the interview, Hosabale said there should always remain scope for engagement between India and Pakistan despite strained relations between the two neighbours.

“The security and self-respect of a country have to be protected and the government of the day should take care of it. But at the same time, we need not close the doors. We should always be ready to engage them in a dialogue,” he said.

Hosabale argued that direct interaction between ordinary citizens could help ease tensions and break the prolonged diplomatic deadlock between the two countries. He also said Pakistan’s military and political leadership had lost India’s trust, making civil society engagement increasingly important.

The remarks come shortly after the RSS undertook outreach efforts in the United States and the United Kingdom as part of activities linked to its centenary year. Hosabale addressed events at Stanford University and the Hudson Institute, while also meeting members of the Indian diaspora and academics.

The Congress has repeatedly attacked the RSS over comments made during the visit. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently mocked the organisation as the “Rashtriya Surrender Sangh”, alleging that RSS leader Ram Madhav had exposed what he described as the group’s “fake nationalism” during an event in the US.

Gandhi’s criticism followed remarks by Madhav suggesting that India had agreed to stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia and had accepted higher tariffs imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Madhav later apologised for the comments, stating that his remarks were factually incorrect. He clarified that India had neither agreed to halt Russian oil imports nor accepted the tariff measures without protest, adding that New Delhi had strongly opposed the 50 per cent tariff imposed by Washington.

With PTI inputs