DRDO director arrested for spying has RSS links, PM should clarify: Congress

Congress media head Pawan Khera said that DRDO Pune lab director Pradeep Kurulkar has been linked to the RSS for 14 years as an office bearer of Sanskar Bharti, an RSS organisation.

New Delhi:The Congress on Wednesday alleged that DRDO Pune lab director Pradeep Kurulkar, arrested for passing on sensitive information to a Pakistan woman spy, is linked to the RSS and asked PM Modi to clarify as the department is under him.

“DRDO Pune lab director Pradeep Kurulkar has been linked to the RSS for 14 years as an office bearer of Sanskar Bharti, an RSS organisation. Though the RSS has now denied links with Kurulkar, the DRDO director had been attending events where top RSS functionaries were present. As the DRDO directly comes under the PM, he should explain this link,” Congress media head Pawan Khera said.

The Congress comment came after Kurulkar was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad for passing on sensitive information to a Pakistan women spy last week. The scientist had been under ATS surveillance since October 2022. Khera further charged that this was not the first time that a BJP/RSS functionary was linked to the ruling party and its ideological mentor but there have been similar instances in the past.

“There has been a pater. Hence, we are flagging the Kurulkar case. Earlier, we had MP BJP IT cell in charge Dhruv Saxena who had links with Pakistan’s ISI. Then there was an RSS functionary in Nanded Yashwant Shinde who gave an affidavit in a court that he had received training in making bombs. The RSS is a non-registered organization. Now they deny any links with Kurulkar but there are photographs and videos available on the internet which show his links with the RSS. In one video Kurulkar is talking about his book at an event where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is also sitting on the stage. We would like to know from the PM what this relation is called?” said Khera.

According to Khera, “Kurulkar is a fourth-generation RSS functionary and had been playing saxophone at the RSS events in Pune. In one of the events, Kurulkar is seen donning the RSS uniform and addressing a gathering.” The Congress leader further charged that PM Modi had invited Pakistan’s ISI for a joint probe after the Pathankot terror attack.

“We have come to know that Kurulkar was honey-trapped. But the real honey trap was that you were in DRDO and attending RSS events. He had been chatting with the spy woman over WhatsApp late in the night. But the government did not come to know of it. The government has placed spy software Pegasus on the mobile phones of citizens but had Pegasus been used on Kuruklar’s mobile the government would have come to know of such spying in time,” said Khera.

“The central government had given clean chit to ISI in the Pathankot blast. The DRDO was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru and this Pune lab was set up by Indira Gandhi. They attack our former prime ministers all the time but today, a spy linked to RSS is sitting in the same organization. Kurulkar was playing a key role in the Akash and Agni missile programmes. This matter should be discussed,” he added.