The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Friday made it clear in as many words that it was neither controlling the Modi-government through any 'remote control' nor was it issuing any diktats to the Prime Minister. Referring to earlier allegations of the Congress that 'Narendra Modi is remote-controlled by the RSS', the all-India Joint General Secretary (Sah-Sarakaryavah) of the RSS, Dattatreya Hosabole quipped, "What can the Congress say? After all, the entire country knows well how their government was run through a remote control."
The RSS functionary was clarifying about the visits made by the Union ministers to the three-day Coordination Meeting of the RSS that concluded on Friday in New Delhi (After the press briefing, the Prime Minister too visited the meet for the valedictory session). The opposition parties criticized the government by saying that the visits of Cabinet ministers had led to an impression that the Modi government was accountable more to the Sangh Parivar than to the Parliament. It clarified that the meeting was not to review performance of the government as rumoured. "It's not a policy-making body. It was a discussion forum to improve coordination between us and the representatives of the government. Similar to their visits to various chambers like FICCI, CII, etc, the ministers were here as well for discussion and we provided them with our feedback that we received from various organizations," he said.
Dattatreya Hosabole. Image courtesy: Naresh Sharma/Firstpost.
Addressing the media after the three-day meeting along with Manmohan Vaidya, RSS national publicity chief, (Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh), Hosabole said, "The RSS has not set any agenda for Modi to fulfill. The Modi- government has been doing its duty. In the last 14 months, it has moved in the right direction, with determination and dedication. It's for the first time in the history that the government has infused confidence among people and created a strong image of the nation abroad. It has risen above expectations. We don't have any grievances against this government. Simultaneously, the functioning of the Sangh is not dependable on the government or on government funding. It works on its own." Sounding positive on the diplomatic front, the Sah-Sarakaryavah stressed on having a cordial relationship with the neighbouring countries.
"India is a member of SAARC and it's important for us to have a cordial relation with our neighbouring countries." Referring to Pakistan and Bangladesh, he said both the nations were a part of greater India and by forgetting any past bitterness, the need of the present was to have "brotherhood with these two countries."
"There are strained relations between brothers in a family, like in Mahabharat, Kaurav and Pandavas were brothers, but were not on good terms. But, that doesn't mean one ceases to be a brother. We've to maintain brotherhood with Pakistan and Bangladesh, who were originally a part of this nation," he asserted.
In the three-day meeting, which was based on exchange of notes, discussion and presentation of feedbacks received from various RSS-affiliated bodies, the RSS laid maximum emphasis on internal and external security, cross-border terrorism, rise of Islamic militancy due to radicalization, Maoism and insurgency.
On national security : "We had deliberations and discussions on how to combat the growing terrorism in the country. Both the government and the society have to come together to fight it out. The Sangh has always emphasized on national security as a top priority," said Hosabole.
Right from militancy and infiltration in Jammu & Kashmir to insurgency in the North East; from the changing demography of Kerala due to Islamic radicalization to Maoist threat in the Red Corridor, all the issues were at the centre-stage of discussion. The impact of global terror outfit Islamic State (IS) was debated upon with reference to the West Asian politics. A need for a constructive and comprehensive policy was suggested.
On Ram Mandir at Ayodhya: Hosabole made it clear that the RSS never raised any demand on the Ram Mandir issue. "The Ram Mandir issue is basically dealt by the 'sadhus and sants' (monks) of the Hindu society. Moreover, the issue is with the Supreme Court. The Sangh never demands on the Ram Mandir issue. The government will deal with it, as it's in the government's domain."
On One Rank, One Pension (OROP): "BJP president Amit Shah assured that OROP issue would be solved at the earliest, as the government has been working on it. We've faith that the government would fulfill its promise," Hosabole asserted.
On economic issues : The Sangh Parivar emphasized on an indigenous economic model appropriate for India, rather than blind adaptation of western economic models.
"Many of the western models have failed. We've to chalk out our own development model, best suited for our country, which will balance our environment and simultaneously bring economic development. Today, there's massive exodus from villages to cities for better jobs, education and medical facilities. We have to ensure how we can provide all these facilities in rural areas to stop exodus. There is a strong need to see that our villages don't die out. The nation has to ensure the self-esteem of the poor and labourers is protected and they become self-sufficient," he mentioned.
On education and culture : "We've to see how we can achieve 100% literacy in coming years. The RSS has been talking about Indianization of education. Education should be geographically accessible to all, affordable and there should be a ban on its commercialization." The RSS has emphasized on preservation of India's cultural and historical heritage for national integration.
On religious census : "There had been a mention about religious census. We've asked our field members to provide us with more details. The issue will be discussed in our next meeting in Ranchi," Hosabole informed.
On reservation
According to the RSS, the issue of reservation shouldn't be politicized, which would be bad for the nation.
