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Opposition protests over remarks of VK Singh, RSS chief disrupts Rajya Sabha

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rajya-sabha-chaos

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha today witnessed two adjournments before noon after BSP launched a vociferous protest over V K Singh’s alleged anti-Dalit remarks and SP created ruckus over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s reported comments on Ram temple in Ayodhya.

No sooner did the House met and mourned the death of former member M A M Ramaswamy and the listed papers laid, BSP supremo Mayawati rose to say that the government’s attitude over Singh’s comments was “very sad and unfortunate”.

As Deputy Chairman P J Kurien disallowed her and asked her to give a notice for making a statement, her party members rushed into the Well raising anti-government slogans.

Not to be left behind, Naresh Agarwal (SP) raised the issue of reported statement of Bhagwat over the construction of the temple.

Kurien did not allow this as well and asked them to make mentions during the Zero Hour. “Please give notice. This is against rules. You cannot make a statement without notice,” he said. Immediately thereafter, SP members rushed into the Well of the House raising slogans.

Mayawati alleged that social and communal atomsphere in the country has detoriated since BJP came to power, as the government instead of taking action against the rabble-rousers was indulging in soft-peddling such issues.

“Dalit virodhi yeh sarkar nahi chalegi, nahi chalegi (anti-Dalit government will not be allowed)”, “V K Singh murdabad (down with V K Singh)”, the BSP members shouted.

With members of the two parties not listening to his pleas for order, Kurien adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

Similar scenes were witnessed when the House met at 11:30 hours with slogan-shouting BSP members again trooping into the Well.

Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) said while the issue of Ram Temple at Ayodhya was pending in courts, a communally tense situation was being created by Bhagwat’s statement. Alleging collusion between government and RSS, he sought action against Bhagwat. Some of his party members too trooped in the Well.

To this, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government respected court’s decision on the Ayodhya issue, but people have “fundamental right” to reiterate committment for construction of a temple.

However, he added the construction would be according to the court’s decision. On Singh’s reported remarks, Naqvi also stated that the Minister has repeatedly clarified that he had not made any anti-Dalit comment.

But he could not douse the slogneering as some Congress members also rushed to the Well, forcing Kurien to adjourn the proceedings till 12 noon.

(PTI)

Lynching, killing cannot damage Hindu culture: Mohan Bhagwat

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Mohan Bhagwat

Nagpur: With Dadri-like incidents triggering outrage, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said such “small episodes” cannot damage “Hindu culture” and praised the Modi government for ushering in hope and confidence in the country and enhancing India’s standing abroad.

 

In his annual Dussehra address at RSS headquarters here, Bhagwat hailed Dalit ikon B R Ambedkar for making provisions in Constitution to remove social and economic inequality faced by the weaker sections, a reference to the quota system, whose review he had recently suggested that pushed BJP on the backfoot in Bihar polls.

In his 55-minute speech, telecast live by Doordarshan for the second consecutive year, he also called for a holistic discussion on population, saying its continuous rise becomes a burden.

“Small episodes happen. They get exaggerated and presented in a big way… Small incidents keep happening but it does not distort Indian culture, Hindu culture. Since time immemorial, it respects diversity, coordinates among diversities to establish unity… This is Hindutva,” he said.

“Our country has stood as one and will stand as one. The Sangh has been doing the work of keeping the nation one on the basis of Hindutva for the last 90 years,” he said.

Bhagwat, however, refrained from making any direct reference to recent incidents of communal and caste tensions.

With several fringe Hindutva elements repeatedly demanding a curb on Muslim population, Bhagwat, without naming any community, favoured a “uniform population policy which is applicable to all”.

He deplored that no holistic discussion has taken place in the country on controlling population.

“With rise in population, the burden on the country will grow. Population growth can be an asset too. If we have more mouths to feed, we will also have more hands to work. We have to plan for 50 years hence. How to provide for the education and health of the people,” he said.

Praising the Centre, he said it had brought about hope and confidence among people that had hit rock bottom under the previous government and spoke about the pet schemes of the Modi government like Jan Dhan, Swachh Bharat and Mudra bank.

(Agencies)

Row over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s quota remark

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Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi: The remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on quota triggered strong reactions from the RJD and the Congress on Monday, with the RSS issuing a clarification and the BJP seeking to end the controversy by saying it was not in favour of reconsideration of reservation.

Seizing on the remarks by Bhagwat made in the run-up the crucial Bihar assembly polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad dared him and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to end education and job quotas.

“I challenge the RSS and the BJP to end reservations,” the former Bihar chief minister posted on Twitter.

Lalu Prasad said 80 percent of the country’s population was made up of Dalits and backwards who would oppose any attempt to do away with reservations.

“The RSS is talking about ending reservations and we are talking about increasing it on the basis of the population,” he said.

Sensing that Bhagwat’s remarks made during an interview was turning into a big political issue, both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP came up with separate statements. The RSS is seen as the ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

Apparently distancing itself from the remarks, the BJP repeatedly said it does not favour reconsideration of the reservation policy.

“The BJP firmly believes that reservation is important for the social, education and economic development of the SC, ST, OBC, Backwards and extremely backwards classes. The BJP is not in favour of any reconsideration of these constitutional provisions,” the party said.

“Right from the day of its inception and even before the Jana Sangh days, the BJP very firmly supported the constitutional reservation for the SC, ST, OBC, backwards and extremely backwards classes,” the party said.

“However, the BJP is further of the view that if further measures are suggested for those who are economically and socially backwards, then the same is welcome,” it said.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke to the media and said there should be a debate how to extend the benefit of reservation to those poor and backward classes who have been left out.

Bhagwat on Sunday pitched for a review of the reservation policy, contending it had been used for political ends and suggested setting up an apolitical committee to examine who needs the facility and till when.

With the controversy brewing up over Bhagwat’s remarks, the RSS in a statement suggested that its chief’s remarks during the interview were misconstrued in the media.

“Bhagwat ji has not commented on the reservation being availed by different weaker sections of the society,” RSS chief spokesman Manmohan Vaidya said.

“Instead, he had said that everybody should discuss how benefits of reservation should reach all weaker sections of the society as envisaged by the constitution makers.

“The subject of the interview was integral humanism, not reservation,” the statement added.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala slammed Bhagwat’s remark on quotas and also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, alleging that as chief minister of Gujarat, Modi had pursued “anti-Dalit” policies.

He said Bhagwat sought a “review of reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes”.

“It is a manifestation of the anti-poor mindset espoused by the RSS and the BJP. The RSS-BJP combine continue to spread polarising agenda to undermine the rights of deprived and underprivileged, particularly the SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes,” Surjewala alleged.

He said the Congress introduced the system of reservation for SCs, STs in government employment, educational institutions as well as elected bodies as part of affirmative action enshrined in India’s Constitution.

Surjewala alleged that Modi as chief minister of Gujarat did not hold a meeting of SC Sub Plan (SCSP) and ST Sub Plan (STSP).

“The policy had not been intentionally implemented on account of malafide and malicious intent of the then chief minister,” he alleged.

Surjewala said the population of SCs in Gujarat was 14 percent but allocation of budget for them was only 5.42 percent when Modi was the chief minister.

(IANS)

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets ‘Z+’ security cover

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Mohan_Bhagwat

New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat has been extended top category ‘Z+’ security cover with the commandos of CISF having been tasked with the job.

Officials said Bhagwat will now be guarded by an armed squad of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during his stay at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and when he travels to any place in Maharashtra and across the country.

“The Special Security Group of CISF has been entrusted with the task of securing the VVIP after a threat analysis made in this regard necessitated that Bhagwat be guarded by a trained team.

“He was till now being guarded by units of Maharashtra police and its armed reserve units under the same cover,” a senior official said.

As part of the security cover, the RSS ‘Sarsanghchalak’ will have about 60 commandos round-the-clock to protect him.

The VVIP commando unit of CISF is armed with sophisticated weapons like AK-series rifles and is equipped with latest gadgets for communication and anti-sabotage tasks.

This unit is also identified as the ‘centre of excellence” for VVIP security in the country.

Sources said the elite squad will take over the security duties at Bhagwat’s residence and the vehicles in his convoy will also be changed as per norms set for a ‘Z+’ central security VVIP.

“The decision to hand over his security to central forces from state police has been hanging for over an year now.

“The Union Home Ministry recently gave the sanction in this regard and tasked CISF with the job,” they said.

A number of other prominent figures like BJP President Amit Shah and government functionaries and politicians have been accorded such security cover in the recent past by the Union government.

(PTI)

BJP's Sadhvi Prachi calls for boycott of Khan triumvirate, slams Mother Theresa

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sadhvi_prachi

Dehradun: Suggesting that films starring Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan are spreading a ‘culture of violence’, BJP MP Sadhvi Prachi advised youngsters not to idolise the triumvirate.

Speaking at a programme of Vishwa Hindu Parishad here yesterday, the Sadhvi, known for stoking controversies by her statements, said once she had been to a programme in Meerut where she asked a young boy what he wanted to become in life.

“He said he wanted to become like Hritik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan. When I asked why, his mother told me because they are good at doing stunts,” she said.

Calling for a boycott of the Khan triumvirate’s films by the right wing Hindu outfits, she said, “I, for one, would ask the Bajrangis to make a bonfire of the posters of films of Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.”

Sadhvi Prachi also accused Mother Teresa of proselytising in the name of service like all missionaries do.

“Mother Teresa indulged in conversion by luring people over to Christianity under the pretext of service,” she said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had also made similar remarks saying that Christianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor.

“Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian,” he had said while speaking at a function organised by NGO Apna Ghar.

(Agencies)

Conversion to Christianity was Mother Teresa's main objective, says RSS chief, gets slammed by Kejriwal

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New Delhi: Conversion to Christianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said Monday February 23rd.

“Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian,” he said while speaking at a function organised by NGO Apna Ghar near here.

“The question is not about conversion but if this (conversion) is done in the name of service, then that service gets devalued,” he said.

“But here (at the NGO), the objective is purely service of poor and helpless people,” added Bhagwat.

The RSS Chief was addressing a function in village Bajhera, near 8 kms from here, where he inaugurated ‘Mahila Sadan’ and ‘Sishu Bal Grah’ in the NGO for helpless women and children.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his comments on Mother Teresa, saying she was a “noble soul” and should be spared.

“I worked wid Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hriday ashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Pl spare her,” Kejriwal tweeted.

(Agencies)

We will raise Hindu population in India to 100%, says Praveen Togadia

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Praveen Togadia

Bhopal: A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat described India as a “Hindu rashtra”, senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia on Sunday said efforts will be made to “increase” the percentage of Hindus in the country, but skirted the issue of religious conversion.

He also said Bhagwat’s assertion of “Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation)” at the Kolkata convention is like a “gospel” for VHP.

“We are going to take percentage of Hindus to 100 in country. Currently there are 82 per cent Hindus in India, and we don’t want this number to be halved. We won’t tolerate Hindus becoming a minority in the country,” Togadia, who is also international working president of VHP, said while addressing a function here.

Togadia however skirted the issue of religious conversions during his address.

Alleging that innocent Hindus are “being converted” to other faiths by “allurement”, including cash, Togadia said VHP will provide security to Hindus in the country besides whatever help they may need in foreign countries.

Reiterating VHP’s opposition to “Love jihad”, Togadia said that his outfit wants to “eradicate the social evil of caste from Hindu society”.

In his address to a Hindu convention in Kolkata yesterday, Bhagwat had defended the current controversial campaign of the Sangh Parivar and dared the opposition to support a law banning religious conversions. He had also described the country as a “Hindu rashtra.” To a query on the issue of religious conversion, Togadia refused to comment, saying, “a raging debate is already going on in Parliament on this issue.”

“VHP is awakening 100 crore Hindus of the country so that each one of them will get food, education, medicine and employment,” Togadia said replying to a query whether the focus on religious conversions by various Sangh Pariwar outfits is at variance with the talk of development by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(PTI)

Popular Front of India condemns airing of RSS chief’s speech on Doordarshan

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PFI

Bangalore: Popular Front of India (PFI) today joined the chorus of individuals and organisations to condemn the telecast of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s annual address on Doordarshan. It called, the airing of the speech, a “dishonorable day” to the country.

Referring to RSS, as a “fascist” organization, it alleged that the Modi government is “controlled by the RSS and the government is trying all tactics to promote the ideology of RSS.”

PFI further alleged the speech was broadcasted only to present RSS and its chief as the leader of all Hindus, who they say, has always tried to position itself as the symbol and representative of Hinduism.

“Since the day of assuming power the Modi government has failed to deliver its promises of being a government for all Indians. The propagation of RSS and its leaders from the platform of government owned channel shatters the tall claims made by prime minister to protect pluralism during his Independence Day speech,” PFI said.

“We ask the government to stop promoting the Sangh ideology and understand its responsibility and prove itself to be unbiased government,” O.M.A Salaam, General Secretary of Popular Front of India demanded.

Doordarshan's explanation for broadcasting RSS Speech is just plain stupid: Brinda Karat

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

– by Brinda Karat

It is a reflection of dark times that the day after the country celebrated the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, an organisation which had been implicated in his assassination gets to have the speech of its leader broadcast, and that too, live, courtesy of the national broadcaster Doordarshan. This is a complete misuse of official machinery to promote the ideology and leadership of an organization which has no constitutional status. It also signals an ominous development that under the Modi Government, the RSS will have access to the institutions of the State.

The explanation given by Doordarshan that the speech was broadcast because it was newsworthy is just plain stupid. The speech of the RSS Chief is an annual event on Vijaya Dashami, which is also observed as the foundation day of the organisation. It may have warranted a para or two in the newspapers or even a mention in a news bulletin, but a live broadcast? Get serious. It hasn’t happened in the decades since DD was formed. What is so special and newsworthy to warrant a live broadcast in 2014 ? The only difference is we have a pracharak as our Prime Minister.

Who took the decision? It is an open secret that Prasar Bharti, which is supposed to be an autonomous body, had no idea of this plan. The supine bureaucrats in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued the orders, and the Directors of DD jumped to attention, rather like the swayam sevaks they were mandated to cover live.

The Director Generals of the News Divisions of All India Radio and DD are appointed directly by the Ministry without any consultation with Prasar Bharti. What worth is such autonomy, when the heads of news channels owe their posts to the Government? Can any of them dare to refuse an order?

There was a time under the Congress regime, when Doordarshan, when it had a monopoly of the airwaves, was referred to as His/Her Master’s Voice. The complaint was that it was the Government and ruling party leaders which got all the coverage. But in this case, under the Modi dispensation, DD has gone a step further, and given live coverage not to the Government at the expense of the opposition, as it was earlier, but to an extra-constitutional authority.

The RSS is a self-proclaimed sectarian organization which does not claim to represent all Indians but just one section – those who are Hindus. It is an organization which has been banned twice, which has been indicted by several commissions of inquiry as being responsible for the many cases of communal violence in independent India. More recently, its leaders and its cohorts have been instigating a highly coloured communalized campaign against so-called love jihad, spreading hatred against Muslims.

If the speech of such a leader is broadcast live, it is an assault on the constitutional values of secularism. What is his locus standi? It also leaves the door wide open for leaders of other equally sectarian organisations functioning in the name of Islam or any religious sect or “godmen” and “godwomen” to demand equal time on national TV for the rantings of their leaders.

When political parties recognized by the Election Commission of India speak on behalf of their parties during election broadcasts on Doordarshan, they have to submit written texts of their speeches which are then vetted by DD officials. Sentences and paragraphs are removed if they are not in consonance with the code of conduct set by the Election Commission. These, remember, are recognized political parties – yet even their leaders have to subject themselves to a code and are not allowed to make extempore speeches live. Did Mohan Bhagwat submit his speech to Doordarshan? Obviously not. He did not need to because it would seem that in Modi’s India, the RSS is above the law and has special privileges.

Broadcasting the speech live meant that words and ideas which should have no place in a secular society were beamed across the nation. It was shameful that Doordarshan should provide its platform for such a distorted perception of history and culture. The speech was replete with references to Hindutva and Hinduness as being the core of India. Bhagwat once again asserted ” all-encompassing truth is what we call Hinduism. It is our national identity.” Further, “unbroken current of national unity is known as Hindutva.”

No religion can be equated with national identity in a secular country. India is not a Hindu nation. The founder of the Indian Constitution rejected Hinduism and wrote an impassioned document as to why he had converted and become a Buddhist. Is it then not abhorrent that Ambedkar should be referred to in the same sentence as Golwalkar, the RSS leader who epitomized Hindutva sectarianism, and that they should be equated as great leaders by Bhagwat?

In his speech, he referred to the RSS sevaks as a workforce “energized with the pride of their Hindu national identity.” Is this the kind of sectarian stuff that the national broadcaster wants to promote? If you can propagate men being energized with Hindu national identity, then why not Muslim national identity or Sikh national identity or Christian national identity? What happens to Indian national identity?

The Information and Broadcasting Minister has much to answer for.

(Brinda Karat is a Politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former Member of the Rajya Sabha.)

Source

For the first time, Doordarshan airs RSS chief's Vijaya Dashami address

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

New Delhi:  An annual address to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by the chief of the organisation, was telecast live by national broadcaster Doordarshan this morning for the first time, provoking strong reactions from political opponents and some commentators.

RSS is a Hindu nationalist group, which is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP. The annual Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra speech by its chief articulates the organization’s vision and agenda for its 4.5 million volunteers, who played a pivotal role in the electoral victory of Narendra Modi in May.

“DD is run by public money. So how is government using it to broadcast RSS Chief’s speech? Very unfortunate,” said Rashid Alvi of the Congress. Historian and writer Ramchandra Guha said on Twitter, “Heads of religious organizations: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, must not be patronized by state TV. They are free to run their private channels.”

Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that the decision was unacceptable, adding that the Congress refused to accept the RSS as ‘above board’ in the national discourse of India.

“What they (the RSS) want and what they believe in is not in tune with the values of this country”, he said in comments to the media.

The CPI-M also said it was an instance of the “public broadcaster being misused by the Modi government”.

In his speech, the RSS cheif lauded Narendra Modi government for its initiatives, which have led to positive signs’ on several fronts in less than six months of its tenure, while expressing the hope that the momentum is maintained in a determined and well organised’ manner.

In the usual right-wing rhetoric, he talked about a `serious surge in jihadi activities’ in southern parts especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala going on to blame the state government for not making effective policy interventions to curb them. However, he was silent on the violence perpetrated by individuals and organisations ideologically affiliated to his own organisation.

Doordarshan’s decision has sparked a massive reaction on Twitter with those for and against it clashing on the social network.

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