Ram Madhav’s slip hands Congress a stick, Hosabale rushes to Modi's aid

A stray admission, a swift apology, and then a carefully worded clean-up act — the RSS found itself doing some on-the-spot damage control in Washington after senior leader Ram Madhav’s remarks appeared to hand the Opposition a ready-made attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress on Friday said Modi has lost his authority to continue as prime minister, claiming that a senior RSS leader had made a “clear admission” that the prime minister is “dancing to Washington’s tunes”.

Congress MP and general-secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal shared a video of Madhav on X in which the latter said India agreed to stop buying oil from Iran and Russia and also agreed to higher tariffs imposed by the US.

In the video, Madhav is heard saying: “India agreed to stop buying oil from Iran. We agreed to stop buying oil from Russia, facing so much criticism from our Indian Opposition. We agreed to a 50 per cent tariff...Agreed means, we did not say anything. We maintained our patience. 50 per cent tariffs we agreed. Today, in the new trade deal also we agreed for 18 per cent tariffs higher than what it used to be.... I mean, average tariff.

“So, where is India lagging behind in that. What are those issues where India is not doing enough?”

The remarks, made during an interactive session at the Hudson Institute in Washington, were quickly seized upon by the Congress, which framed them as an admission of policy capitulation.

In his post on X, Venugopal said, “Clear admission by a senior RSS leader — PM Modi is dancing to Washington’s tunes. There was once a time when the US’ 7th Fleet was in the Bay of Bengal, and India didn’t budge. And then there is today, where a Compromised PM has handed over India’s sovereignty to the US.”

He added that this is exactly what Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the broader Opposition have been arguing: “India has lost its independent voice on the world stage. After this surrender, it’s clear that Narendra Modi has lost his authority to continue as Prime Minister.”

Madhav, however, moved quickly to walk back his comments. “What I said was wrong as India did not agree to stop import of oil from Russia. What I said was wrong. India didn’t agree to stopping import of oil from Russia anytime. Also it vigorously protested 50 per cent tariff imposition. I was trying to make a limited counterpoint to the other panellist. But factually incorrect. My apologies,” he said in a post on X while sharing his video.

But by then, the political damage had been done — and it fell to Dattatreya Hosabale, also in Washington, to offer a more measured and flattering articulation of the RSS-government relationship.

In an interview with PTI, Hosabale said Modi propagates the values of the RSS “in his own unique ways” and is “the best representative” of the organisation. “He (PM Modi) is doing these things in his own unique ways, all of them. He may not express the same words. For example, he said ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’. We have said, ‘plant a tree’,” Hosabale said.

The RSS leader stressed that many government programmes reflect the organisation’s thinking. “Many government programmes reflect the values espoused by the RSS,” he said, citing ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and the Five Resolves (Panch Pran) outlined by the prime minister in his 2022 Independence Day address. “So, being a swayamsevak (the RSS term for volunteer), he has these things naturally,” Hosabale said.

He also underscored the ideological continuity between the RSS and the BJP, recalling the party’s origins. “They wanted to retain the relations of RSS. That was the prime reason for the formation of the political party, coming away from the Janata Party. That way, that umbilical cord relationship cannot be disturbed.”

Hosabale added that while Modi is “an elected prime minister in a democracy”, he “knows very well what his cultural roots are and what this organisation stands for… He knows very well. He is the best representative.”

The sequence — an unguarded remark, a hurried apology, and a subsequent reaffirmation of ideological alignment — has left the ruling establishment batting away Opposition claims, even as it insists nothing of substance has changed.

With PTI inputs