Dattatreya Hosabale was re-elected the general secretary of the RSS on Sunday. (PTI)
Hosabale said every new application goes through a phase like it happened in the case of EVMs and electoral bonds need their own system of checks and balances
Electoral bonds scheme is an ‘experiment’ by the government that needs its own system of ‘checks and balances’, said Dattatreya Hosabale, who was re-elected as the general secretary (Sarkaryavaha) of the RSS on Sunday.
The organisation has its own modalities of nominating its general secretary once in three years.
Addressing the media after the completion of four-day long Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), Hosabale defended the electoral bonds and said, “It is an experiment by the government. Every new application goes through a phase like it happened in case of EVMs as well. The electoral bonds also needs its own system of checks and balances.”
Talking about the RSS’s primary policies adopted for the year, Hosabale said that the organisation will emphasise its work towards a society free of caste-discrimination, known as Samajik Samrasta.
The minorities which include Muslims and Christians are also getting associated with the RSS over their cultural roots. “We call everyone, whose ancestors lived in the country, as Hindus. This is not a religion specific expression, but it is about cultural connect. To establish more cultural association, our outreach among Muslims and Christians are also increasing,” he said.
From calling Ram Janmabhoomi a way to ‘national resurgence’ in its annual resolution to mentioning farmer protests in Punjab as one of the causes for ‘anarchy’ in the state, from condemning alleged incidents of sexual assault in Sandeshkhali to defending the electoral bonds as an ‘experiment’ that needs ‘checks and balances’, Dattatreya Hosabale, who has been re-elected as the RSS general secretary said that the ABPS (Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha) discussed a range of contemporary issues. The ABPS is RSS’ apex decision making body.
Definition of Minorities
Talking about who to call as ‘minorities’, Hosabale said, “We need to re-consider the concept of minority as it finds its mention in Indian Constitution. When we say minority, the country is seen as separate, then who does the country belong to ? This country, this nation is everyone’s. Since the inception of Sangh in 1925, the RSS has held that no matter what religion one may follow in India, no one should be seen from the prism of majority or minority.”
“In Bharat, Muslims and Christians are generally considered as minorities. Since the time of Guru Golwalkar ji, all Sarsanghchalaks have tried to have a dialogue with them. Within RSS, too, we have workers from these communities, but we don’t want to display them as show pieces,” he added.
Manipur, Sandeshkhali, Punjab
Mentioning Manipur, Hosabale said the state is now in the phase of healing and both the communities -Meitei and Kukis- should work together towards peace. “Hundreds of houses were burnt down, hundreds of people were killed. So, there is a deep wound. It would be unrealistic to say that nothing had happened. The wound will take time to heal. We have our volunteers among Meiteis and Kukis. They have initiated dialogue for peace,” he said.
Talking about the resistance built by women in Sandeshkhali, he said that the government and the society should always empower and encourage women. “When this kind of incidents happen, it should be thoroughly condemned and the culprits should be brought to the book,” he added. RSS will always support such movements against injustice.
Punjab has recently saw two different kinds of events which disturbed the state. Farmer’s protests caused ‘anarchy’ in some parts, while the Khalistani separatist movement disturbed the society there. Even though Amritpal Singh was arrested, there should be a watch to minimise scopes of such separatism in the country.
