Lucknow, March 13 :
In a dramatic turnaround, the RSS has accepted the possibility of ?videshi? Sonia Gandhi becoming Prime Minister.
RSS joint general secretary K.C. Sudarshan told reporters on the conclusion of the organisation?s three-day meet here: ?She (Sonia) has adopted Indian nationality. If people want, they can vote her to power.? The statement coincided with Sonia Gandhi completing one year at the Congress helm.
The press briefing, however, began with the RSS leader attacking Sonia Gandhi for ?encouraging? Christian missionaries. ?Ever since Sonia Gandhi took over as president of the Congress, Christian agencies have started spreading canard against Hindu organisations. This is part of an international conspiracy,? he said.
?Sonia became Congress president when Christianity was on the wane. With her emergence, Christianity has received a shot in the arm in India,? Sudarshan added. He said Christian organisations have never before aggressively campaigned in favour of conversions.
Sudarshan?s admission that Sonia Gandhi could become Prime Minister has created ripples in political circles here. The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress is confused, while the BJP maintained that Sudarshan?s comments should not be taken to mean the RSS welcomed Sonia Gandhi.
?Sudarshan?s comments should not be taken out of context. He merely admitted the technical possibility of Sonia Gandhi becoming Prime Minister. Not once did he say the RSS feels she would be Prime Minister,? BJP state unit president Rajnath Singh said.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Salman Khurshid said: ?The RSS has no option but to see the writing on the wall. It is good that they have realised the eventuality of Sonia Gandhi becoming Prime Minister. However, I need to understand the context in which the statement was made.?
The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha of the RSS, meanwhile, passed a resolution on the World Trade Organisation.
Sudarshan said the RSS welcomed the initiative taken by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the G-15 meeting in Jamaica. The resolution said the government should keep the interests of developing nations in mind while negotiating the terms of the WTO.
The RSS, however, opposed direct-to-home service in India, saying it would tantamount to an onslaught on the cultural values of the country.
At the end of the meet, a message from RSS chief Raju Bhaiyya, who is recovering from a fractured arm, was read out.
He expressed satisfaction that the government had managed to thwart nations which were opposed to India?s emergence as a nuclear power.