Patel indicted RSS for Gandhi killing: R K Anand

After Union Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, party colleague and Rajya Sabha member R K Anand today took on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh claiming that Sardar Vallabhai Patel had in a communication referred to the government reports confirming that the Sangh and the Hindu Mahasabha had created an atmosphere for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Anand, quoting from a letter purportedly written by Patel to Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, said, "...our reports do confirm that, as a result of the activities of these two bodies (RSS and Hindu Mahasabha), particularly the former, an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible."

The noted Supreme Court lawyer, at a press conference in Delhi, further quoted Patel as having written to Mukherjee, who was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, "There is no doubt in my mind that the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in the conspiracy."

Anand said the very fact that an atmosphere was created in the country, which led to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination can be termed 'conspiracy' to kill him.

Referring to a 'finding' of the Commission of Inquiry set up under senior Supreme Court Judge Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur to probe circumstances that led to Gandhi's assassination, he claimed that it was the 'opinion of the commission' that there was a conspiracy to murder him.

Anand quoted the commission has having stated that facts taken together were "destructive of any theory other than the conspiracy to murder by (Veer) Savarkar and his group and..."

He said that it was an 'admitted historical fact' that Nathu Ram Godse, who killed Gandhi, joined RSS in 1930 and became a prominent speaker and organiser of the Sangh.

He further claimed that Babu Rao Savarkar, the brother of Veer Savarkar who founded 'Tarun Hindu Sabha', a youth wing of the Mahasabha, had in fact, merged his organisation with RSS.

"All the above facts point only to one direction that there was no difference between Hindu Mahasabha and RSS," he said.

Anand also accused RSS and Hindu Mahasabha of having opposed the Quit India Movement that was launched by Gandhi on August 9, 1942.

He said while Gandhi raised the slogan of Quit India, Shyama Prasad Mookherjee 'opposed' it and instead made the proposal: "The question is how to combat this movement in Bengal? The administration of the province should be carried on in such a manner that inspite of the best efforts of the Congress, this movement will fail to take root in the province."