Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday kicked up a storm after he compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to the Islamic State terror outfit. “We oppose organisations like ISIS the way we oppose RSS. If those among us in Islam too do wrong things, they are no way less than RSS,” he said, while speaking at the National Integration Conference organised by Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.

Azad's remarks drew criticism from both the Hindutva body and the Bharatiya Janata Party. RSS spokesperson J Nand Kumar said the comparison indicated the “intellectual bankruptcy” of the Congress party and its “unwillingness to deal with fundamentalist and cruel forces like ISIS”. He also said the Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highest decision-making body of the RSS, will discuss taking legal action on the matter. Calling his comments unfortunate, the BJP demanded an apology from Azad and wants Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take action against him if he does not withdraw them, PTI reported.