RSS chief visits mosque and madrassa, imam organization chief terms him 'Rashtra pita' 

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) president Mohan Bhagwat on September 22 visited a mosque and a madrassa in Delhi and held discussions with the chief of the All India Imam Organisation.

The All India Imam Organization called Bhagwat a "Rashtra pita," during his visits.

Bhagwat visited a mosque in north Delhi's Azadpur before going to the Madarsa Tajweedul Quran on central Delhi's Kasturba Gandhi Marg.

According to an RSS officer who was with him, this was Bhagwat's first visit to a madrassa.

During his visit to the madrassa, Bhagwat interacted with children and heard them reciting the Quran and as per a Sangh functionary accompanying him, children raised the slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind'.

He also claimed that in addition to discussing the necessity for youngsters to learn more about their country, the RSS chief emphasized the importance of respecting all religions, regardless of how they are practiced. 

Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the head of the All India Imam Organization, described Bhagwat as a "Rashtra pita" when speaking to kids in the madrassa. However, Bhagwat intervened and reminded everyone that there is only one national father and that everyone is a "Bharat ki Santan" (child of the nation). 

"Sarsanghachalak meets people from all walks of life. It is a step in the overall, ongoing 'Samvad' process,'' said RSS Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar in a statement following the trips. 

A day when numerous investigation agencies carried out nationwide searches and detained more than 100 members of the Popular Front of India for allegedly sponsoring terrorism in the nation coincided with the big visits by the ideological leader of the BJP. 

Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM and a member of parliament from Hyderabad, responded to Bhagwat's meeting with Muslim intellectuals and clerics by saying, "Everyone knows the ideology of the Sangh and these Muslim elites are meeting Bhagwat.