BJP will raise Azad's RSS-ISIS remarks in Parliament

The Bharatiya Janata Party is set to raise in Parliament on Monday the controversial remarks made by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad comparing Hindutva outfit, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with terrorist organisation, the Islamic State.

Party sources said some members will raise the issue and seek Azad's apology as they insisted that any comparison of the RSS with a violent organisation such as the IS was "unacceptable" to them.

That Azad chose an event organised by a Muslim body to attack the RSS will be handy for the saffron party, they said, adding that it reflected the "votebank politics" of Congress.

Azad had on Saturday kicked a row by seeking to draw a parallel between the RSS and the ISIS.

"So, we oppose organisations like ISIS, the way we oppose RSS. If those among us in Islam too do wrong things, they are no way less than RSS," he had said at an event organised by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

Hitting back, an RSS spokesperson in Nagaur had said such a comparison showed "intellectual bankruptcy" of the Congress and its "unwillingness to deal with fundamentalist and cruel forces such as the ISIS".

The RSS will consider legal action against Azad, he had said.

The BJP too jumped to the defence of its ideological mentor, calling it a nationalist organisation and demanding an apology from Azad.

The party had said it was "unfortunate" that Azad had made such comments and asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to disassociate from his remarks and take action against him if he does not withdraw them.