RSS chief denies role in Gadkari's elevation

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has flatly denied any role in the elevation of Nitin Gadkari as President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing a large gathering of RSS at the organisation's local headquarters in Lucknow on Sunday, Bhagwat said, "RSS never indulges in political activity, so where was the question of my playing a role in the appointment of BJP chief."

He flayed the media for attributing the key BJP appointment to RSS.

"I think media was responsible for creating a lot of other misconceptions too about the RSS", he said, while adding, I would therefore like people to get close to us and see for themselves instead of getting guided by falsehood created by the media."

Bhagwat also flayed the Union government for the on-going attacks on Indians in Australia. Terming this as a consequence of "weakness of the government", he said, "well this was not happening only in Australia, but in several other countries where Indians had risen on account of their abilities."

He went on to add, "It was high time the Indian government took strong steps to curb these attacks."