RSS doesn't ask members to work for a political party: Bhagwat
New Delhi, Sep 18: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Tuesday that his organisation never asks 'swayamsevaks' to work for any particular political party but suggests that they support those who work for national interests.
On the second day of the "Bhavishya ka Bharat - an RSS perspective" conclave, Bhagwat said the Sangh believed that the centre of power should remain as envisaged in the Constitution.
"Questions are being raised that why there are RSS swayamsevaks in one particular party? Why there are many office bearers? This is not our question. Why they don't go to other parties. It is their decision. We don't ask any swayamsevak to work for a specific political party," he said at an outreach event here.
Bhagwat said the Sangh tells its members to support those who work for the nation's good.
"Those swayamsevaks working with any responsibility in Sangh, they don't do politics. They take a call according to their conscience."
Many with RSS links are known to be in leading positions in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in various governments, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many from the RSS are also holding top Constitutional posts now.
Referring to allegations that Sangh holds the power centre of the BJP, he said the RSS does not believes in two power centres.
"There is centre of power in the country as envisaged in the Constitution. It will continue."
He said the Sangh had its views on national issues but it doesn't interfere in the government's policies and functioning.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
