NEW DELHI: In a rare acknowledgement, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak

on Monday said that the Congress played an important role in India’s freedom struggle.

“Congress played a big role in the freedom movement and gave India many great personalities,” Bhagwat said while addressing the three-day event - ‘The Future of Bharat: An RSS’ Perspective’ at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital.

Bhagwat's comment came on the first day of the three-day conclave aimed at promoting a better understanding of the organisation. During his 80-minute-long speech, the RSS chief touched upon several issues -- He spoke about the life and the works of KB Hedgewar, the founder of RSS, the social evils plaguing our society, the importance of diversity in the country and India’s freedom struggle, including Congress's role in it.

Underlining the vast diversity in the country, Bhagwat said that the diverse culture of the country must be respected, celebrated and it should not be a reason for any discord in society.

"India is a country full of diversity and it must be respected and celebrated," he said, adding that it should not become a reason for "discord" in the society.

Speaking about the holding of the event in the national capital, he said the organisation wanted people to understand its functioning as the work it does is "incomparable".

The main aim of the RSS is reforming the society by riding it of its ills, he said, claiming that an RSS worker considers the entire society as his own. The venue of the event is Vigyan Bhavan, where usually major government events are held.

Bhagwat said the event was being organised so that people could understand the organisation.

The outreach comes at a time when the Congress-led opposition has been ramping up attacks on the RSS, accusing it of promoting divisive ideology and attacking minorities.

The organisation had made massive preparations for the event. A list of about 500 dignitaries was prepared for the event, including several opposition leaders.

However, almost all major opposition parties gave the conclave a miss. However, many leaders of the ruling BJP were present, as were many Bollywood actors, artists and academicians.

The event will conclude on September 19. Bhagwat, along with other speakers, will be addressing the audience with issues of national importance on the first two days and a Q&A session will be held on the third day.

(With inputs from agencies)