Shinde reflects on his RSS roots at Nagpur headquarters
Accompanied by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, other ministers and MLAs, Shinde paid tribute to RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and the second sarsanghachalak, Madhav S Golwalkar
NAGPUR: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday expressed pride in his childhood involvement with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during a visit to the RSS headquarters here this morning. He also drew attention to the ideological similarities between the RSS and the Sena, and added that the Sangh Parivar helped bring people together rather than divided them.
Accompanied by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, other ministers and MLAs, Shinde paid tribute to RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and the second sarsanghachalak, Madhav S Golwalkar. He said the ideologies of the Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar align closely, highlighting the sangh’s century-long commitment to the country and its role in nation-building. “For a hundred years, the sangh has continually worked for the nation. In times of calamity, you will always find a sangh member present. The Sangh Parivar unites; it does not divide. This is why the ideologies of the Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar are the same,” he said.
Shinde called the RSS Smruti Mandir, which houses the memorials of Hedgewar and Golwalkar a “holy place” that inspires energy and motivation. “I have known the sangh since my childhood, and I take pride in my roots.”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and ministers visit the RSS headquarters every year during the winter session of the state legislature. Following the 2022 split from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, members of the Shinde-led faction have also joined these visits.
Other leaders who visited the RSS headquarters were speaker Rahul Narwekar, deputy chairperson of the legislative council Neelam Gorhe, and several BJP and Sena ministers and MLAs. The dignitaries were warmly welcomed by RSS office-bearers, who shared insights about the RSS’s operations and initiatives.
Shinde reinforced the ideological alignment between the Sangh Parivar and the Sena, emphasising that selfless service is a foundational principle of the RSS. He recalled starting with the Sangh shakha and later with the Sena under the influence of Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe. “The ideologies of the Sangh Parivar and Shiv Sena are identical. We should learn how to work without expecting anything in return, from the Sangh Parivar,” he concluded.
Notably absent from the event was nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, a key ally of the ruling Mahayuti coalition. However, two of the party’s legislators, Raj Kumar Badole and Raju Manikrao Karemore, participated in the memorial visit. Raju Karemore insisted that his visit was a personal decision. “There was no directive from the party to visit this place,” he said. However, he acknowledged receiving a message from BJP representatives, urging members of allied parties to visit the headquarters. “I got the message and came here, accordingly, to pay tribute,” he added.
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