Bhagwat birthday: Congress slams Modi’s ‘desperate bid’ to curry favour with RSS chief
Congress's sharp criticism comes after Modi's "over-the-top tribute" to Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday was published in several newspapers
The Congress on Thursday (September 11) criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making a "desperate bid" to curry favour with the RSS leadership through what it termed an "over-the-top tribute" to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, on his 75th birthday.
In an article published in several newspapers, Modi praised Bhagwat for his "intellectual depth" and "empathetic leadership". He said Bhagwat’s tenure as RSS head since 2009 marked the most transformative phase in the organisation’s 100-year journey.
Modi also called him a "living example" of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and said Bhagwat had dedicated his entire life to societal transformation and strengthening the spirit of harmony and fraternity.
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Congress's sharp criticism
Reacting sharply, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh said that Modi was trying to curry favour with the Sangh. "The Prime Minister, in his desperate bid to curry favour with the RSS leadership, has written an over-the-top tribute to Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday today," he posted on X.
The Prime Minister, in his desperate bid to curry favour with the RSS leadership, has written an over-the-top tribute to Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday today.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 11, 2025
The PM has recalled that it was on Sept 11, 1893, that Swami Vivekananda gave his immortal speech in Chicago.
The…
Ramesh also criticised Modi for recalling Vivekananda's famous Chicago speech and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in his article while deliberately omitting Mahatma Gandhi's call for Satyagraha on September 11, 1906, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"The PM has recalled that it was on September 11, 1893, that Swami Vivekananda gave his immortal speech in Chicago. The PM has also recalled that the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks in the US took place on Sept 11, 2001. But not surprisingly, the PM has not mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi first gave the call for satyagraha on Sept 11, 1906, in Johannesburg. That was when the world first heard of this revolutionary idea," the Congress leader noted in his post.
"It is too much to expect the PM to remember the origin of satyagraha since the very word satya is alien to him," Ramesh remarked.
Taking another swipe at Modi, Ramesh said, "The PM, who himself claimed to be non-biological, makes his pravachans appear as if they are God-se".