Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday inaugurated the three-day meeting of Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), Sangh’s top decision-making body, that will hold “intense discussions on some of the contemporary and burning issues”, including Manipur situation and attempts to create the ‘North-South divide’ in the country. When asked about the three-language row during a press conference, RSS Joint General Secretary C R Mukunda said, Sangh would not pass any resolution and maintained that it prefers the mother tongue to be a mode of education and day-to-day communication. On the delimitation debate, he said it was “politically motivated”, and the RSS has no say on the number of seats but made a veiled attack against DMK, asserting that forces challenging national unity were a matter of worry. “

 

As an organisation, we are concerned about the forces which are challenging national unity, especially raising the North-South divide, whether it is about delimitation or languages,” Mukunda said. The RSS volunteers and functionalities of different organisations related to the ‘Vichar Parivar’ are trying their best to bring harmony, especially in southern States. He said “intense discussions on some of the contemporary and burning issues” will be addressed during the meeting that will be attended by heads of 32 affiliated organisations of the RSS. “Manipur has been going through a rough patch for the past 20 months, but there is some hope today. As we go through the decisions of the Central Government, some of which are political and some of which are administrative, it has raised hopes for the people of Manipur,” Mukunda said. He said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been analysing the situation and it believes that “it will take a long time for a natural atmosphere to be created”. To a query, Mukunda said efforts are on to bring together the two tribal groups of Meitis and Kukis, which are fighting. He also noted that there is a need to solve many things politically and some decisions have to be taken by the Centre. “They (Government of India) are doing their work and we are trying to bring communities together. We are trying to achieve some harmony. We held many relief camps,” he explained. President’s rule was imposed in strife-torn Manipur on February 13 and the state assembly put under suspended animation, days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned from his post that led to political uncertainty in the north-eastern State. The Manipur Assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.

 

The RSS joint general secretary said that forces challenging national unity were a matter of worry. “As an organisation, we are concerned about the forces which are challenging national unity, especially raising the North-South divide, whether it is about delimitation or languages,” Mukunda said. He said RSS volunteers and functionalities of different organisations related to the ‘Vichar Parivar’ are trying their best to bring in harmony, especially in southern states. To a question on the RSS stand on the row over language, especially when southern states are saying that their language is being sidelined, Mukunda said the RSS prefers mother tongue not only for education, but also for the daily activities. “

 

RSS has not passed any resolution as to whether there should be two-language or three-language system. We had passed a resolution earlier on mother tongue,” he said. Regarding the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, Mukunda said the matter would be taken up for discussion in the next three days. On the National Register of Citizens, he said the RSS opines that there should be an identity of those living in this country, but they will not pass any resolution on it. On RSS completing 100 years this year, he said the focus will be more on expansion and consolidation than celebration. The top functionaries will also review the social impact of RSS in bringing a transformation in society. He said that RSS has grown manifold in the last one year. According to him, the number of Shakhas in Tamil Nadu has crossed 4,000 this year. Mukunda also pointed out that there is resistance to RSS Shakhas at some places for political and not religious or cultural reason. “Presently, there are 83,129 active Shakhas, which is over 10,000 more than what we had last year,” he explained.

 

There are daily activities taking place at 51,710 places and weekly activities at 21,936 locations. He said the RSS viewpoint on the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj was that it has heightened the cultural pride and raised the self confidence of Indians. “It was a wonderful glimpse of Bharat’s spirituality and cultural heritage. The Uttar Pradesh government and the Union Government of Bharat deserve congratulations for creating and running the whole Kumbh Mela with smooth infrastructure and management,” the RSS functionary said. According to him, one of the arms of the RSS, ‘Saksham’, which works for the specially-abled people, had organised ‘Netra-Kumbh’ (Eye checkup camp) during Kumbh Mela which benefited lakhs of people. The total beneficiaries were 2.38 lakh, where 1.64 lakh free spectacles were distributed and 17,069 people underwent cataract operation, Mukunda said.