Siddaramaiah dubs RSS men as descendants of Aryans, irks Congress

Bengaluru: Statements of Opposition Leader in the State Assembly S Siddaramiah over Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have raised eyebrows within the Congress itself and the think tank in the party are now afraid that the former chief minister's outbursts might hurt the party's image in the election year.

In his enthusiasm to praise former PM Jawaharal Nehru, on his death anniversary here on Friday, Siddaramiah said the people in RSS did not belong to India and the ideology followed by it was alien to Indian polity.

"People in RSS are of Aryan descent and India was a country thickly inhabited by Dravidians and why should Aryans dictate Dravidians?" he added.

When he said this at the open forum, he was flanked by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who were visibly embarrassed. But oblivious of the effect of his views on the audience, Siddaramiah went on with his tirade against the RSS, trying to prove that the saffron organisation did not belong to the Indian thought process. "Who are the people behind RSS, why should we accept their views?" he questioned.

The outwardly statements of their leader in the open forum were discussed in hushed tones by the Congress party workers and leaders in their own circles as to what effect it would have on the Hindu majority voters.

The think tank in the party on the condition of anonymity told Hans News Service that Siddaramiah had been trying to polarise the non-Hindu voters which was in fact detrimental to the party. This division between the Aryans and Dravidians will defeat the Congress mantra of blaming BJP for divisive politics, Siddaramiah has now given BJP a weapon to train on the Congress in the coming elections.

The Congress second-line leaders are already very critical of Siddaramiah's statement over Lingayats and Veerashaivas when he sought different nomenclature for both communities and different reservation classification for Lingayats and Veerashaivas. This was taken advantage by the BJP in winning two by-elections in the Lingayat belt in the State in 2020 in Sira in Tumakuru and Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bengaluru.