Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday, an extremist organization implicated in violence against minorities, according to the Hindustan Times.
Indian media reports indicate that PM Modi visited the Dr. Hedgewar Smruti Mandir in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and paid respects at memorials dedicated to RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and its second chief, MS Golwalkar.
The RSS is considered the ideological mentor of PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This Hindu supremacist organization campaigns for India to be declared a Hindu nation, rather than a secular one as enshrined in its constitution.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was also present during PM Modi’s visit to the Smruti Mandir, the administrative headquarters of the organization.
PM Modi’s visit coincided with the Sangh’s Pratipada program, marking Gudi Padwa, the beginning of the Hindu New Year, as reported by The Hindustan Times.
However, Business Standard, quoting RSS leader Sunil Ambekar, reported that Modi was not the first prime minister to visit the group’s headquarters, as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also done so during his tenure.
