‘Muh se swadeshi, mann se videshi’: Akhilesh Yadav on RSS after PM Modi's praise

IN response to ground government minister Narendra Modi's extolment for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his independency Day speech, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at the organisation, saying they are "swadeshi by words but foreigner by heart".Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Yadav said that while at the first convention of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it was decided that they would follow a secular and socialist path, the Sangh Parivar people's path is not the same. "Yeh muh se toh swadeshi hai lekin mann se videshi hai (swadeshi by words but foreigner by heart)," he said.His remarks come after PM Modi lauded RSS's 100-year journey and described it as the "largest NGO" in the world.“A hundred years ago, a movement was born, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). For a century, this organisation has dedicated itself to the welfare of the nation. Through service, dedication, organisation, and unparalleled discipline, the RSS has played a unique role in nation-building. In a way, the RSS is the biggest NGO of the world. It has a history of 100 years of dedication,” Modi said.ALSO READ | Independence Day 2025: PM Modi’s 5 big announcements in record 103-minute speechFounded in 1925 in Maharashtra's Nagpur by Keshav Baliram, the RSS is marking its 100th year with a series of outreach programmes and celebratory events across the nation.As India celebrated its Independence Day, Akhilesh Yadav also said that the nation would have to accept the challenges of the world."Today, when we are celebrating Independence Day, we will have to accept the challenges of the world. The stronger our farmers are, the stronger our country is economically, and the better our future will be for the youth, our country will be able to compete with the world markets," the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said.'CM Yogi fooled entire BJP'He said that we Indians should be ready to make any sacrifice to make the nation strong. "From time to time, the countries of the world threaten our country, sometimes in the name of the market, sometimes in the name of land. We will have to accept those challenges as well," Yadav added.Further, he alleged that UP CM Yogi Adityanath had fooled the entire BJP, saying that the leader was neither a BJP member nor did he like the party's ideology."We want our borders to be safe. Agniveer should be abolished... Today, America is imposing tariffs on us and creating problems for our industrialists... We need to figure out ways to address such a global crisis... CM Yogi Adityanath has fooled the entire BJP. He was neither a member of the BJP nor did he like the ideology of the BJP. He took membership of the BJP just to sit on the chair (of CM)," Yadav said.Oppn slams PM Modi's RSS praiseAIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also hit out at PM Modi's praise for RSS and said that his remarks were a breach of constitutional values and an attempt to appease the Sangh.ALSO READ | How Owaisi, Congress, Left reacted to PM Modi's RSS praise in Independence Day speechIn a post on X, Owaisi said, “The ideology of Hindutva believes in exclusion and is antithetical to the values of our Constitution. Modi could have gone to Nagpur to praise RSS as a Swayamsevak, why did he have to do it from the Red Fort as the Prime Minister?”Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said that PM Modi's "name-checking of the RSS from the ramparts of the Red Fort was a blatant breach of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic".