RSS chief Bhagwat hails Modi, Amit Shah over abrogation of Article 370

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday (October 8) hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

While addressing the Vijayadashmi function of the RSS at Reshimbagh ground in Maharashtra’s Nagpur city, Bhagwat claimed that a few did not want the country to be strong and vibrant, which is why they had protested against the abrogation of Article 370.

In the morning, Bhagwat performed a Shastra puja at the Sangh’s annual Vijayadashmi event here.

He also spoke about the RSS’s vision and said that it was firm about its opinion that “Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra”. He said that all Bharatiyas working for the nation’s glory and enhancing its peace are “Hindus”.

Noting the increase in incidents of mob violence in the country, he said that lynching did not originate from Indian ethos and that it should not be used in the Indian context to defame the country’s citizens.

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“Lynching is not the word from Indian ethos, its origin is from a story in a separate religious text. We Indians trust in brotherhood. Don’t impose such terms on Indians,” he said.

He added that the word ‘lynching’ was from a ‘western construct’ and comes from a separate religious text and that such terms should not be used on Indians.

Bhagwat also urged citizens to create harmony, and that everyone should go by the confines of the law. “Swayamsevaks are brought up with that sanskar,” he said.

He said that in the past few years, there has been a transformation in “the direction of thought process of Bharat”. “There are many people in the world and in Bharat as well, who don’t want this. A developed Bharat creates fear in the minds of vested interests… such forces will also not want Bharat to be strong and vibrant,” the RSS chief said.

Even well-meaning policies, statements from persons in government and administration were being misused to benefit nefarious designs by vested interests, he rued. “We must be alert in identifying these plots and counter them on intellectual and social levels,” he said.

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Bhagwat said that the world was eager to know if the 2019 elections in such a huge country will be conducted smoothly. “Democracy in India is not something imported from any country, but a practice which has been prevalent here since centuries,” Bhagwat said.

He said that India’s borders were now safer than ever, and more focus was needed on coastal security. “The number of guards and check-posts on land borders and surveillance along the maritime border, especially on islands, have to be increased,” he said.

On concerns over the economic sector, he said that the slowing down of the world economy has left its impact everywhere. “The government has taken initiatives to tide over the situation in the last one-and-a-half months. Our society is entrepreneurial and will overcome these challenges,” he added.

HCL founder Shiv Nadar was the chief guest for this year’s event.

Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Gen VK Singh (retd) and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among those present at the event.