The Congress party on Tuesday alleged that several directors of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) had been asked to reach out to their alumni and facilitate interactions with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat during his upcoming visit to the United States.
Bhagwat is scheduled to visit the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom from August 25 at the invitation of local associations and organisations associated with the Indian diaspora.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh described the alleged move as “totally unacceptable” and questioned the involvement of IIT directors in facilitating interactions between their alumni and the RSS chief.
“A number of IIT Directors, distinguished professionals in their own right, have been mobilised to reach out to alumni to interact with Mohan Bhagwat when he is in the US later this month. This is totally unacceptable,” Ramesh said.
He drew a distinction between alumni interactions with elected public representatives and those with the RSS chief.
“Asking alumni to interact with PMs, CMs, Ministers, and MPs is one thing. But the RSS head?” Ramesh said.
There was no immediate reaction from the RSS or the government to the Congress’ allegations.
RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh (national publicity and media head) Sunil Ambekar said on X that Bhagwat’s three-nation tour was at the invitation of local organisations. He added that it was merely a coincidence that the visit was taking place in the centenary year of the RSS’s founding.
