Both Bhagwat,Rajnath deny remarks

Speaking in Nagpur on Wednesday,BJP chief Rajnath Singh denied he had questioned Bhagwat. “I am a swayamsevak first. It pained me when I saw (reports attributed to him) on TV last night and in newspapers today which said I have reacted to Bhagwat’s statement. Attempts are being made to divide the Sangh Parivar,” he said.

Bhagwat also met BJP leader L K Advani over lunch,but chose not to divulge what they discussed.

Meanwhile,Vijay’s book launch saw many BJP leaders vying for Bhagwat’s attention. Apart from RSS leaders Suresh Soni and Bajrang Lal Gupta,BJP spokespersons Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar and former spokesperson Balbir Punj were seated in the front-row.

Among the panelists were The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta,Dainik Jagran Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Gupta and Times Internet Editor-in-Chief Rajesh Kalra. Vijay spoke about “how difficult it was for someone professing Hindutva to write in the mainstream media” but added he “didn’t know anything other than RSS ideology”.

In response to Shekhar Gupta’s observation that we should get over the scar of 1962 (India-China war),Bhagwat also spoke on the China threat — something that he has repeatedly highlighted over last few weeks. “We (India) are in competition with them (China)… scars should not always be forgotten. Though the 1962 days were different,what has to be forgotten should be,but what has to be remembered (scars) should not be forgotten… There is a clash between India and China,” said the RSS chief.