There are RSS people in Congress; but they don’t know they are RSS: Salman Khurshid

New Delhi, Jul 9: Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid has said that infiltration of the RSS into the Congress would continue to haunt the party for a long time.

In an interview with a national English daily, the 64-year-old leader said that he came to know about such infiltration after the demolition of Babri mosque.

“The funny thing is that they do not even know that they are RSS. They are good RSS people by instinct but they do not know. The first time we got an idea was after the Babri demolition when some leaders began saying that we should not use the word ‘secular’ because it sent out a wrong message,” Khurshid said.

The former minister claims that he had singled out the people who would join BJP three years ago. “I had named Jagadambika Pal, the Bahugunas etc but I was silenced. I was told they were good party workers. I should not bring personal differences to the table. But they are still there in the party. And I know who are going to desert the party and switch sides next,” he added.

The former minister also said that the recent incidents of lynching are a worrying sign for the society and minorities can’t even speak about it.

"From streets being unsafe, we now have homes which are unsafe. Police stations have become the last place where you can get refuge. The mindset that allows lynching will not stop at targeting Muslims alone. It will spread to other sections, Dalits, Christians, Adivasis, intellectuals,” he told National Herald in an interview.

The Congress leader said the minorities had accused the UPA government of not doing enough for them but haven’t said anything to the present NDA dispensation. “I am not suggesting that they were always or even completely unfair. But in 2014 they followed a poor, self-denying strategy that eventually proved lethal for themselves,” he said.