If an outreach was the aim, reach out it did. Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, opened a three-day conclave in Delhi today with a rare conciliatory tone for one of its harshest critics. "In the form of the Congress, a huge freedom movement fledged in the nation. It too gave birth to a number of all-sacrificing great personalities who continue to inspire us today. That movement managed to inspire ordinary people to join the freedom struggle. It had a huge hand in us achieving Independence," he said.