Former Supreme Court Judge KT Thomas said that after the Army, it is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that keeps Indians safe, said a tweet by BJP leader Sambit Patra.
In his tweet, Patra was quoting from an address by Thomas at an RSS instructors' training camp in Kottayam district of Kerala on Sunday.
The 80-year-old retired judge said that after the Indian constitution, democracy and Army, it is "fortunately" the presence of the RSS which guards Indians.
Thomas further credited the RSS for freeing the country from the clutches of the Emergency.
Thomas was appointed an SC judge in 1996. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007 for services in the field of social affairs.
He is famous for presiding over the Supreme Court bench that confirmed the death sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
According to Thomas, the term "Hindu" in fact connotes a culture and that he regretted "that word has been set apart for the RSS and the BJP.”
The former judge said that the concept of secularism did not have to be invoked only for the protection of minorities but it was meant to ensure the dignity of every individual. Thomas also questioned setting up commissions for minorities.
The retired judge's views about RSS are long known now. In the past also, Thomas has appealed for ending a smear campaign to hold the RSS responsible for assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
At various events organised by RSS in 2011, 2013 and 2014, Thomas had said he became an admirer of the RSS in 1979 when he was posted as district judge of Kozhikode, adding simple living and high thinking was its hallmark.
“I am a Christian. I was born as a Christian and practise that religion. I am a church-going Christian. But I have also learnt many things about RSS,” he had then said.
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