CPC delegation meets RSS leaders

A day after holding talks with the BJP leadership in the Capital, a delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday met senior leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) at the outfit’s headquarters in Delhi’s Keshav Kunj.

The Chinese delegation met the RSS general secretary and second in command, Dattatreya Hosabale, at his office, and the meeting lasted for about an hour, sources said. “It was a courtesy call by them. The request for the meeting had come from the Chinese side.  There is no agenda to the meeting,” a senior RSS functionary said, adding that the outfit’s chief, Mohan Bhagwat, was not present as he was travelling.

The meeting lasted for approximately half an hour, according to sources. The interaction is significant given the limited engagement between the RSS and Chinese representatives in recent years. The meeting is considered as a major shift in the CCP's behavior.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest broke out between the BJP and the Congress after the Chinese delegation visited RSS headquarters.  The BJP said it held a formal meeting with a Chinese delegation “openly”, given the “improved” relations between New Delhi and Beijing, unlike the Congress, which it alleged, “secretly” signed a memorandum of understanding with the neighbouring country’s ruling party.

BJP was reacting after the Congress targeted it over the CPC delegation visiting the BJP headquarters here, accusing the saffron party of showing hypocrisy in its dealings with the neighbouring country and asking whether it raises the issue of “repeated Chinese transgressions” during such interactions. Congress media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said his party demands full accountability and complete transparency from the government on its China policy.

Hitting back, BJP national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha said, “It was a process of a formal meeting. A formal meeting takes place when a situation improves. We do it very openly.”  “We do not secretly sign any such MoU which we cannot explain for years,” he said, in an apparent reference to the Congress reportedly signing a memorandum of understanding with the Communist Party of China.

BJP attacked the Congress on this issue several times, alleging that Rahul Gandhi signed a “secret” MoU with the Communist Party of China in Beijing in 2018 in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It has also been demanding that Congress make public the details of the MoU.  Sinha said the meeting with the Chinese delegation took place at the BJP headquarters here because “things have improved.” Earlier on Monday, the CPC delegation, led by Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC (IDCPC), visited the BJP headquarters. BJP foreign affairs department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale said in a post on X. During the meeting, the BJP delegation, headed by party national general secretary Arun Singh, discussed at length “the means to advance inter-party communications between the BJP and the CPC.” The BJP delegation was headed by party general secretary Arun Singh. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong also joined the CPC delegation during the meeting. “Ms Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister, International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), visited the BJP head office today. During the meeting, we discussed how to enhance communication and interaction between BJP and CPC,” Singh tweeted on Monday. In August last year, the RSS, which invited representatives from a number of countries, had avoided extending an invitation to China, Pakistan and Turkiye in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Both China and Turkiye had supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

 Historically, the BJP and the CPC have maintained contacts since the late 2000s, with several BJP delegations visiting Beijing to meet senior Chinese leaders. However, this is the first such engagement since the 2020 Galwan clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that severely strained India-China relations.

The meeting of the members of China’s ruling party with the BJP took place after six years. In 2019, a delegation of BJP leaders led by Arun Singh had visited China. In January 2011, during the tenure of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari as the BJP president, a party delegation travelled to China. A delegation of BJP leaders led by Arun Singh had visited in 2019.