Opposition in Maharashtra has accused state Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao of advocating the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's ideology even as he is expected to be politically neutral in the statutory position he holds. Angry that the governor had publically admitted that he was an RSS worker earlier this month, the Congress-led parties boycotted his address to the joint-session of Maharashtra Legislature on Monday, the first day of the budget session in which the BJP-led government will table a vote-on-account for seeking budgetary approval for the period till Lok Sabha elections are over.

Speaking in Nagpur on February 6, Rao had said the RSS was one of the most secular and inclusive organisations that always respected the right of individuals to practice their own faith. News agency PTI reported Rao saying at the inauguration of the new academic complex and a gurukulam named after late RSS sarsanghchalak Golwalkar Guruji at Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (KKSV) at Ramtek that the journey of the Sangh had been spectacular as well as tough.