Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday, October 8, congratulated the Centre for abrogating the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir through Article 370.
Bhagwat was speaking at Reshimbagh grounds of Maharashtra's Nagpur on the occasion of Vijayadashami. "In realizing the public expectations, respecting the public sentiments, the courage to fulfill their wishes in the interest of the country is in the chosen regime again. This has been proved by the government's work of making Article 370 ineffective," he said.
Abrogation of J&K's special status has been a long-standing demand of the RSS.
The RSS chief went on to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their contribution, adding that there are several obstacles that they need to deal with.
"There are some questions that we have to answer, and some problems that we have to diagnose and solve," he said.
He further condemned the critics and said that a developed country "creates fear in the minds of vested interests. Only people with vested interests don't want Bharat to be strong and vibrant."
"It is essential to be alert in identifying plots of vested interest and counter them on intellectual and social planes. Alertness is a constant necessity," he added.
Speaking at a time when the debate around intolerance is raging and demands to deal with cases of mob lynching are being made, he said the 'lynching' is also being encouraged by people who have vested interests.
"Everyone must understand that there is a conspiracy," he said, adding that lynching is a "western construct" and one must not use it to "defame the country".
"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 incidents of mob lynching are not one-sided and "both communities" are culprits.
"Some incidents have been done deliberately, some have been published in a malafide manner. These incidents are not the tradition of our country nor are these in accordance with our constitution. These have been never endorsed by RSS," he said.
"Whatever the difference of opinion be, howsoever provocative actions might have taken place, still the society must act by remaining within limits of the Constitution, reposing faith in the police and judicial system of the country," Bhagwat added.
He further said that the nation has expressed expectations for the future and lauded the past performance of the Modi government by electing him back with an increased number of seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Saying that the Sangh is not the one to mince its words, Bhagwat iterated the organisation's presence has increased since 2009. "The vision and proclamation of the Sangh regarding the identity of the nation, the social identity of all of us, and the identity of the country's nature, are clear, well-thought-of and firm that Bharat is Hindustan, Hindu Rashtra," he said.
