Mohan Bhagwat meets Muslim cleric; Congress calls it 'impact of Bharat Jodo Yatra'

New Delhi [India], September 23 : Congress leader Gourav Vallabh on Thursday claimed that the meeting of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat with the All India Imam Organization president is the impact of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, and asked the RSS chief to join Rahul Gandhi in uniting the country.
The RSS chief, who is engaged in a campaign to increase contact with Muslims, on Thursday visited Masjid and Madarsa in Delhi and met Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who called the RSS chief "the Father of the Nation".
His visit to the Masjid earlier and to the Madarsa has grabbed eyeballs, as it is for the first time that he has been to a Madarsa.
Speaking to media persons, Vallabh said that the results of the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra are evident from the fact that for the first time Bhagwat has visited a Madarsa.
"Only 15 days have passed since the Bharat Jodo Yatra has begun and the results are out. A BJP spokesperson has said Godse Murdabad on television. Mohan Bhagwat went to the house of a person of another religion. This is the effect of Bharat Jodo Yatra," said Vallabh.
He further said that by the time the Bharat Jodo Yatra is completed, the hate and the divisions created by the ruling dispensation will disappear from the country.
"We would like to urge Mohan Bhagwat that if this 15-day yatra has had such an impact on you, so you should participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra for an hour and walk with Rahul Gandhi with a tricolour in hand," he added.
Reacting to it, Congress leader Pawan Khera also in a tweet said, "It has only been 15 days since the Bharat Jodo Yatra has started and BJP spokesperson started saying "Godse Murdabad", ministers have become concerned over the hatred spread through the media and Bhagwat has reached out to imams. Let's see what happens next."
Earlier, after visiting a Masjid at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat went to the Azad Market Madrasa Tajweedul Quran in Old Delhi, interacted with the children and also had a piece of advice for them.
Madarsa director Mahmudul Hasan, while talking to ANI said, "The chief stayed inside the Madrasa for about an hour and met the teacher and the children."
His visit to the Masjid earlier and to the Madarsa has grabbed eyeballs, as it is for the first time that he has been to a Madarsa.
The RSS chief, who is engaged in a campaign to increase contact with Muslims, also met with Dr Imam Umair Ahmed Ilyasi, head of All India Imam Sangathan, on August 1 last month.
Earlier, in the day he had also met with many Muslim intellectuals, including the Chief Imam, Dr Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi.
As per sources close to the RSS, issues like the Hijab controversy, Gyanvapi and maintenance of peace and harmony among religions were discussed in the meeting.
Other than Bhagwat, senior RSS members, including Dr Krishna Gopal, Indresh Kumar, Ramlal and Karish Kumar also participated in today's meeting.
Sunil Ambekar, the Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS told ANI that the meeting was a part of the 'Samvad' process.
"RSS Sarsanghachalak meets people from all walks of life. It's the part of a continuous general "Samvad" process," Ambekar said.
The controversy over Hijab erupted from a Karnataka college and is currently being heard in the Supreme Court. It also came up in the findings of intelligence agencies that PFI was behind triggering the controversy.
After the controversy erupted regarding Gyanvapi also, the RSS Chief met with Muslim intellectuals and academicians.
Earlier on Tuesday, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat met with many Muslim intellectuals and discussed recent controversies and ways to strengthen religious inclusivity in the country.
As per the sources close to RSS, the meeting was held for propagating the ideas of Sangh and for promoting the theme of religious inclusivity. Recent incidents like the Gyanvapi controversy, the Hijab controversy, and population control were discussed in the meeting.
The meeting was attended by many intellectuals like former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Qureshi, former Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung, former Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Lieutenant General Zameer Uddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and businessman Saeed Shervani.
Earlier, during the time of Ram Mandir's judgment as well, RSS played an active role. The senior RSS members met with Muslim intellectuals and propagated the message that whatever order comes out, everybody will be accepting it peacefully.
RSS has always specified that nationalism should be in everyone's heart irrespective of one's religious leaning.