New Delhi: On the occasion of the 126th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, his grandnephew CK Bose said, Netaji was the only leader to date who was inclusive and secular, reported news agency ANI. His comments came after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his right-wing organisation share the same goal of making India a great nation.
"RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat must be clear about what he wants, you can't follow Savarkar & Netaji together, they can't be on the same page," CK Bose added.
His comment comes amid criticism that the RSS and freedom fighters did not share the same ideologies.
Bhagwat praised Netaji's contribution to India's struggle for independence and urged everyone to adopt Bose's traits and principles and work toward making India a "vishwa guru" (world leader).
"We remember Netaji not only because we are grateful to him for his valuable contributions towards the freedom struggle but also to ensure that we imbibe his qualities. His dream of India, which he wanted to build, is still not fulfilled. We have to work to achieve it," he said.
While giving a speech at a massive RSS event called "Netaji Loho Pronam" at Shahid Minar Ground in this city, Bhagwat stated that even though circumstances and paths may diverge, the destination remains the same.
Netaji's secularism was "against the 'Hindutva' ideology of the RSS," according to critics.
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"Subhas babu (Netaji) was first associated with the Congress and followed its path of 'satygraha', and 'andolon', but when he realised that this was not enough and there was a need for freedom struggle, he worked towards it. Paths differ, but the goals are the same," he said.
The RSS chief also said, "We have Subhasbabu's ideals in front of us to follow. The goals he had are our goals too... Netaji had said India is a smaller version of the world and the country has to provide relief to the world. We all have to work towards it,"
Underlining that achieving the goal is essential, he said, "there can be different paths, and these are described as ‘isms’ (ideologies), which might differ but what is important is the goal.”
He noted that “Netaji's legacy has remained alive” in the hearts of millions of Indians even though “no substantial efforts were made to keep it alive” after the independence.
According to Bhagwat, the selfless lives, struggles, and sacrifices of freedom fighters continue to inspire people.