RSS leader's ‘dialogue with Pak’ remark gets former Army chief's backing, and Cong's question: ‘What changed?’

DAttatreya Hosabale, a top out leader of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ideologic parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), latterly advocated for keeping the choice of duologue on the table for dealing with Pakistan, a remark that even former Army chief Gen MM Naravane backed.Noting that an appropriate answer needs to be given if “Pakistan is like a pinprick trying to create incidents like Pulwama”, RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale emphasised on the importance of readiness to “engage in dialogue”.“...If Pakistan is like a pinprick trying to create incidents like Pulwama, etc., we have to answer appropriately according to the situation because the security and self-respect of a country and nation have to be protected, and the government of the day should take note of it and take care of it,” Hosabale said in a PTI news agency interview on Tuesday, citing terrorist attacks such as 26/11, Pulwama and Pahalgam. But at the same time, we need not close the doors, he added."We should always be ready to engage in dialogue. That is why diplomatic relations are maintained, trade and commerce continue, and visas are being given. So we should not stop these, because there should always be a window for dialogue," the RSS leader said.Former Army chief backs RSS leaderRSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale's emphasis on keeping the window of dialogue with Pakistan open was on Wednesday endorsed by former army chief Gen (retd) Manoj Naravane, who said that friendship between the two peoples can lead to better bilateral relations."Common people live on both sides of the border, with common problems of 'roti, kapda and makan (food, clothing and shelter)'. Common man has nothing to do with politics. When there is friendship between the two peoples, there will also be friendship between the two nations," PTI quoted Naravane as saying on the sidelines of an event in Maharashtra's Mumbai.The former army chief visited a book store in the city to sign his new book 'Curious and the Classified. Unearthing Military Myths and Mysteries'."It is a right thing. People-to-people contact is important," he added. People-to-people contact is key to breaking the deadlock with Pakistan and there should always be a window for dialogue, Hosabale said in an interview to PTI Videos on Tuesday. Pakistan's military and political leadership have lost India's confidence and it is time for civil society to lead the way, the RSS leader said.Naravane said there should be a people-to-people connect between the two countries, be it through 'track two' diplomacy or a sporting event.Congress takes digThe remarks by Hosabale, however, led to a dig from the Congress which asked what has changed between the Pahalgam attack and now which warrants a dialogue and wondered whether the Sangh was being nudged by some "hyper power" which is today beholden to Pakistan for all the wrong reasons."What has materially changed between the 22nd of April 2025, when Pakistan-based and Pakistan-sponsored terrorists carried out the massacre of innocent citizens in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, which warrants that there should be a dialogue," PTI quoted Congress leader Manish Tewari as saying.Has Pakistan given any indication that they will honour their earlier commitments given by their respective PMs and military leaders that Pakistan will not use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, he asked."So, you want to engage towards what purpose? Is it only because you are being nudged by some hyper power which is today beholden to Pakistan for all the wrong reasons that you need to open a dialogue with them," Tewari said, in an apparent reference to the US.Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh also weighed in and said it appears that the recent US trip of Shri Hosabale, “during which one of his colleagues admitted to the PM doing what the US wanted him to do, has impacted him as well as the RSS.” “Just imagine how the bhakt brigade including the various TV channels would have frothed, fumed and fulminated if…,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.