AGENCY
Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday lauded the government and army for the surgical strikes, saying it has enhanced India’s prestige in the world and sent a message to trouble-makers that there is a limit to its patience.
Addressing the Swayamsevaks at the outfit’s headquarters here on its foundation day, he also said the “whole of Kashmir including Mirpur, Muzzafarabad, Gilgit and Baltistan are an inseparable and integral part of India.”
Batting for citizenship rights to the Hindu refugees in Jammu and Kashmir, he called for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to leave the Valley due to militancy.
“Under our government, the army has recently given a befitting reply. The army’s and India’s prestige in the world have gone up. The trouble-makers have been given this message that there is a limit to patience…The one (Pakistan) which has been inimical to us is getting isolated. We are delighted with the valour shown by the army,” he said.
In his annual Dussehra message, he also touched upon issues like the unrest in Kashmir, tension on the border and cow protection, which has brought BJP much flak.
The annual ceremony also saw the swayamsevaks switching to dark brown trousers from trademark khakhi shorts, which was part of their uniform for 90 years. Expressing concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the whole world is aware that the subversive activities constantly promoted from across the border are mainly responsible for disturbances in the Kashmir valley.
Stating that the commitment of our leaders that the whole of Kashmir belongs to India is good, he said, “What is needed is that this strength of statement is reflected in action as well.”
“Firmness and efficiency shown in the matter of diplomacy and defence should permanently reflect in our policies,” he said. “A level of perpetual co-ordination and co-operation is needed among the defence forces and intelligence agencies as we have to pay a heavy price for a moment’s distraction,” he said. Bhagwat also emphasised the need for maintaining a strict vigil on maritime boundaries as well as frontier areas and said the government and administration should engage the locals to stop infiltration from across the border.
He said the state government in Jammu and Kashmir should work with the Centre to pursue one policy and move in one direction, noting that the nationalist forces should be strengthened and “undesirable” activities be rooted out.
