Rijiju defends Bhagwat, TMC calls him 'Minister of Sangh'

Rijiju, the Minister of State of Home, also hit out at the Congress which had criticised Bhagwat's remarks, saying it should not try to politicise the Army. "Indian Army is our pride. In emergency situation (not Congress emergency), every Indian must volunteer to stand with Defence Forces. Bhagwat ji only said it takes 6-7 months for a person to be a trained soldier & if Constitution permits RSS cadres has the ability to contribute (sic)," the minister said in a tweet.

In another tweet, Rijiju targeted the Congress saying "who had asked for proof of surgical strike from Indian Army?

"Never try to politicise Indian Army. Congress tried to dilute the Army in 2004 on religious lines by head counting but Army firmly stood the ground," he said.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) questioned why a minister was defending the RSS chief.

"After the tweet of Rijiju, it has become even more evident that this government is being remote controlled by the RSS," Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien alleged.

"Kiren Rijiju is not a minister of state but a minister of Sangh. A minister of the government is supporting and defending the RSS," O'Brien told reporters.

The RSS has claimed that its chief's speech has been misrepresented. Bhagwat had not compared the Indian Army with Sangh volunteers and his remarks on the matter were "misrepresented", it said