The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is planning to build bridges in southern India with a view help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expand its footprint in the region and to overcome what is touted as a north-south political divide.
RSS leaders believe there is a deliberate attempt by some people to create a division between the people in the northern and southern parts of the country. They are apparently peeved by comments on social media platforms following the BJP’s loss of power in Karnataka in May and its sweep of three Hindi-heartland states in December, which the Hindu rightwing group says is aimed at sowing confusion in the minds of the people.
“We must not forget that Bharat is one, and there is no divide between the country on the basis of north and south,” an RSS leader told The Federal. “Some people are trying to create divisions. It is important that people are made aware of this… Bharat is one from the Himalayas to Ram Setu.”
The Karnataka loss in May this year took away from the BJP the only southern state which it ruled while the BJP wins in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in December left the Congress in power only in Himachal Pradesh in northern India. This triggered speculation about a north-south political divide.
This story was originally published in thefederal.com. Read the full story here .
