Panipat (Haryana): The RSS paid tributes to late Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Sharad Yadav, senior advocate Shanti Bhushan at the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), its annual meet, on Sunday. The ABPS serves as the highest decision-making platform for the right-wing group. In the meeting, actions taken up in the previous year are reviewed and plans are chalked out for the upcoming year.
The RSS started its meeting by paying homage to leaders and personalities who passed away last year. The list read out by general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had 100 names that included Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Hiraben Modi as well as actor-director Satish Kaushik who passed away this Thursday.
The RSS will pass a resolution to mark the completion of 75 years of India's Independence, Vaidya said. There is a dedicated arm of Sangh for women, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, he said adding that there is increasing participation of women in social awareness, awakening and in the Sangh in general.
In the meeting, RSS Joint General Secretary Dr. Manmohan Vaidya said that the Sangh is presently running 68,651 daily branches across 42,613 places. They are holding 26,877 weekly meetings and 10,412 Sangh Mandlis. Vaidya also highlighted that 6,160 branches have increased as compared to 2020, weekly meetings have increased by 32 percent to 6,543, Sangh Mandlis have increased by 20 percent and the Sangh is present in 71,355 places across the nation. Vaidya said that the aim of the RSS is to increase the number of daily shakhas to one lakh by next year.
Speaking about women's participation in the organization, Dr Vaidya said that the Sangh will hold a discussion in the meeting on connecting women with the 'Shakhas'. Around 1,400 delegates participate in the annual meeting. These include the RSS national executive, zonal and state executives, elected members of the ABPS, and all zonal pracharaks. The important office bearers of RSS-linked organizations are also invited.
The ruling BJP, whose ideological parent is the RSS, might be represented by party president JP Nadda, general secretary BL Santhosh and some selected leaders. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad usually sends the most number of delegates. Former state leaders of the RSS are invited to the ABPS.
