Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi during his three-day tour to Gujarat, while interacting with the students in Vadodara made a comment of, no women being seen in shorts in the RSS Shakha.

The remark of Rahul has brought in a lot of criticism, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel had questioned Rahul if he would ask something like this to his mother Sonia Gandhi or sister Priyanka Gandhi. Some also criticised that Rahul’s comment was against the integrity of the women and he wanted to see them in shorts.

However, to this, the Congress had responded that by making this remark, Rahul did not mean that he wanted to see the girls in shorts. By mentioning shorts, Rahul meant that since the uniform of the RSS was khaki shorts and everyone in the shakha wore that only, he could not see any women in the khaki uniform in RSS.

Reacting to the comments of Rahul, RSS clarified that due to the rigorous schedule and exercise, the women were not involved in the shakha. Senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya said that  Gandhi’s remark was “like going to a men’s hockey match and trying to spot women players.” He also added that the RSS work with the men in the shakha and connect with their families through them.Further clarifying

Further clarifying as to why there were no women in the RSS shakha, he said that they were the part of all other organisations of the Sangh. He said that the men in RSS shakha met at 6 in the morning and did vigorous exercise, both of which were not possible for the women. He added that a separate RSS wing for the women, the Rashtra Sevika Samiti runs parallel to the RSS shakha.

A senior RSS leader in his statement to the press said that “the idea of a shakha is to teach nation-building through games, which are designed differently for boys in the shakhas and girls in the sevika samitis.”

A senior Sevika also in her statement to the press said that they work mostly with the small and middle-class family women, who also have to attend to the household work and it is unfair to ask them to give up their household duties and work for the Sangh. The RSS in 2013 under the leadership of RSS leader now in BJP, Ram Madhav and RSS joint general secretary Dattaraye Hosabale had started the family shakas in order to clean the only men image of RSS.

The RSS by all means meaning to give a hard-hitting reply to the comments made by Rahul Gandhi also informed that the number of women participating in the pratinidhi sabha of RSS, the highest decision-making body, has been steadily increasing. The Sangh also said that “sevika samiti functions as a separate entity, but its ideological identity upholds the same values as the sangh and places a lot of emphasis on matrutva, netrutva, kartrutva (motherhood, social leadership, professional excellence).”