RSS Chief's Live Address on Doordarshan Welcomed by PM Modi, Slammed by Opposition

NEW DELHI: The stamp of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on the central government was officially endorsed when RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat made his first televised live address to the nation on state broadcaster Doordarshan. Bhagwat who was categorical earlier in his assertion that “India is a Hindu country” gave form and substance to the RSS vision on government backed Prasar Bharati television.

The RSS chief urged Indians to tackle jihadis and Naxals, Bangladeshi immigrants, and to shun Chinese goods. He said jihadi activities were increasing in Kerala and interestingly Tamil Nadu, and said that “Hindu society” in Bihar, Assam and West Bengal would be endangered because of the Bangladeshi immigration.

The RSS chief ended his address with the significant call to “reconstruct” India. And while he did not specifically say so it was clearly to be on the lines that he set out in his speech, with the target states too identified. It was all in all a significant step forward for the RSS.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced the address saying that the issues of social reform raised by the RSS leader were very relevant today. “"Mohan Bhagwatji talked about important national issues in his speech. The issues of social reform that he raised are very relevant today," Modi tweeted. He also gave the online link of the speech so that it would not be missed by his followers.

The Opposition slammed the broadcast by Doordarshan in no uncertain terms. Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said the hour-long telecast was a “dangerous tradition. This is not an organisation which is completely neutral. It is a controversial organisation.”

Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid said, “we do not accept the record of RSS as being above board in terms of our national aspirations”.

The CPI(M) said, “The RSS uses the occasion (Dussehra) to propagate its Hindutva ideology. The national public broadcaster has no business to telecast live the speech of the Chief of an organisation like the RSS.”

CPI;s D Raja said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry must explain why DD was allowed to be the mouthpiece for the RSS. He said it was “a disquieting and distressing trend that the country’s secular and democratic values were undermined by the government action.”

“This (showing it live) is a dangerous misuse of the state machinery. The RSS is a sectarian Hindu body. Next, imams in mosques and priests in churches may ask that DD covers their speeches live,” Historian and commentator Ramchandra Guha said on Twitter.

Excerpts from RSS chief Bhagwat’s address:

“There is a serious upsurge in the jehadi activities in the southern parts of Bharat, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. No effective policy imperatives, efforts are visible in curbing such activities.

No visible reduction in smuggling of rare earth minerals from the southern coast has come to notice.

In states like West Bengal and Assam, the population imbalance has been caused by illegal migration of a particular community from across the national borders.

Near surrender before these fanatic elements and appeasement policy adopted by the ruling parties in these states, have put the life of local Hindu communities, the law and order situation as well as the national security under serious threat in the region.

The nation has yet to see the impact of the joint plan of the Central and State governments in putting an effective check on the activities of Jehadi and Naxal extremists and those forces which are helping and promoting them. These extremist groups have presented a serious threat to the internal national security.

But the society too has to play an important role in meeting this challenge. The society needs to be aware towards tackling this problem. Those individuals who are engaged in various kind of smuggling on the borders also belong to the same society.

Those people who provide shelter and employment to the illegal migrants (infiltrators) from other side are none other than the very citizens of our country.

The social situations causing exploitation of poor and lack of development finally help the Naxals in recruiting poor youths as their cannon fodder.

Though an alert, transparent, sensitive and a rule abiding administration is necessary for ending exploitation and ensuring development, equally important is the role of society in eradicating exploitation of the poor through active cooperation, striving in a democratic way to end their exploitation and by running various types of help and support activities in order to take these fruits of development to the deprived people.

We feel it necessary to put a ban on meat exports, beef in particular and cow smuggling in immediate future.

It is necessary that policies of the government should take the nation towards self reliance and should encourage entrepreneurship among the people, but it is equally important for the people to encourage consumption of Swadeshi products.

Our tendency of buying daily need goods, even buying foreign made statues of our Gods and Goddesses, simply because they are cheaper in price, needs to be abandoned.

We need a vigilant government, a strong defence policy and brave and efficient defence force to ensure the security of our nation, but we equally need a society of people who are patriotic, vigilant and of a high moral character.

The discourse in the society should be such that the morale of the armed forces and the government is enhanced. It is the duty of the society to provide sufficient number of capable youths as soldiers and officers to our armed forces. The society must keep vigilant eyes and ears on the activities going on around them to ensure safety of the nation.”