New Felhi (TIP)- The ruling BJP’s parent body — the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — has moved into a new, plush high-rise home, complete with three 12-storey towers built at a cost of Rs 150 crore, donated by Sangh members and volunteers.
Built by architect Anup Dave from Gujarat, Keshav Kunj, the RSS’ new home, blends ancient Indian architectural elements with modern and has some 300 rooms for the residential accommodation of Sangh cadres.
The complex has a built-up area of 5 lakh sq ft, including the basement which can park 135 cars as of now with plans to accommodate 270 vehicles.
At least 75,000 RSS cadres and volunteers contributed the finances to rebuild the old Sangh home. That too was located at the same address.
“Contributions ranged from Rs 5 upwards and 75,000 people donated,” said RSS sources, pointing to the main auditorium named after VHP’s Ashok Singhal, a leading light of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
The three towers, which house both office and residential spaces, have been named Sadhna, Prerna and Archana in a sign of women’s empowerment, said an RSS leader.
The complex also has a huge library with some 8,500 books, an OPD clinic which even the neighbourhood dwellers can use and a five-bed small in-patient facility.
The newly built complex will see RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat interact with workers on February 19. Top Sangh leadership will also be present at the informal get-together.
RSS sources said they were moving into the new office gradually and there was no formal inauguration of the new building.
The RSS started its outreach from Delhi in 1939 but got its first address only in 1962.
“That was a single floor complex. In the 1980s, we built two floors. Later, we expanded and remained located at Keshav Kunj in the Jhandewalan area of Delhi. We shifted out to a rented place in 2018,” said an RSS leader.
The redone Keshav Kunj home of the RSS was built from 2018 to 2024.
Source: TNS