... The RSS claim that it is not a political, but a "socio-cultural organisation ... is dangerously false. The mere fact that the RSS does not contest legislative elections does not mean it is not political. It has a well- defined political agenda, that of "one people, one nation, one culture", with Hindutva as its core. This agenda is wide-ranging and comprehensive. It advocates a centralised, homogenised, society and polity, based on the primacy of one community and disenfranchising and subjugating all others.

The agenda covers economic policy, foreign affairs, security, education and approaches to history, even to the family. The RSS has a view on everything: from the origins of the Aryans to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, from how Kashmir should be governed to how women should dress. This broad-canvas agenda is driven by a militarist, disciplinarian vision of political nationalism.

The RSS-BJP relationship involves a seamless continuum with revolving doors; key individuals walk from one organisation to the other, and sometimes back. The RSS, itself political, ideologically dominates and organisationally controls the explicitly political body. called the BJP. Three years ago it decided for the BJP that all its State party presidents, as well as key national office bearers, must be RSS pracharaks. The party duly complied. Most top BMP leaders have RSS links and regularly pay obeisance to ít.

The RSS acts as the BJP's master, mentor and gatekeeper. Sometimes it gets involved even in the minute details of government formation or candidate selection for Assembly elections. :

In March 1998, K.S. Sudarshan made his famous midnight call on Vajpayee in order to veto Jaswant Singh's inclusion in the Cabinet. The RSS uses the appellation "cultural" because that helps it evade accountability to democratic forums or elected bodies, indeed to anyone, and to be run despotically as a cabal. It has never once held internal elections. (Source: The Frontline, 3 March, 2000)