NEW DELHI: With RSS functionary Dattatreya Hosabale stating that there should always be a window for dialogue with Pakistan, Congress leader Manish Tewari on Wednesday asked what has changed between the Pahalgam attack and now which warrants a dialogue and wondered whether the Sangh was being nudged by some "hyper power" which is today beholden to Pakistan for all the wrong reasons.
In an interview with PTI Videos, Hosabale has said people-to-people contact is key to breaking the deadlock with Pakistan and there should always be a window for dialogue.
The RSS general secretary termed people-to-people contact the key in breaking the deadlock between the two countries and said it "should be tried more and more now".
Reacting to Hosabale's remarks, Tewari told PTI, "What has materially changed between the 22nd of April 2025, when Pakistan-based and Pakistan-sponsored terrorists carried out the massacre of innocent citizens in the Baisaran valley of Pahalgam, which warrants that there should be a dialogue."
Has Pakistan given any indication that they will honour their earlier commitments given by their respective PMs and military leaders that Pakistan will not use terrorism as an instrument of state policy, he asked.
"So, you want to engage towards what purpose? Is it only because you are being nudged by some hyper power which is today beholden to Pakistan for all the wrong reasons that you need to open a dialogue with them," Tewari said, in an apparent reference to the US.
Asked about Hosabale's push for people-to-people contact, the former Union minister said, "Ultimately, there has to be a full spectrum engagement. The question is will people-to-people dialogue bring any modification in Pakistan's approach of using terrorist as an instrument of state policy. The answer is no."
So, materially what has changed between Baisaran and now that the RSS is talking about an engagement with Pakistan, the Congress leader asked.
In his remarks to PTI, Hosabale said Pakistan's military and political leadership have lost India's confidence and it is time for civil society to lead the way.
"The security and self-respect of a country have to be protected and the government of the day should take care of it. But at the same time, we need not close the doors. We should always be ready to engage them in a dialogue," he said.