National security important: Bhagwat

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday asked the Centre to keep national security in mind while taking a decision on Rohingya. He charged that they were driven out of Myanmar mainly due to their violent separatist activities and links with terror groups.

In his Vijayadashmi address from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters here, Bhagwat flagged a number of issues like illegal immigrants, cow vigilantism, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the economic scenario.

He accused the Kerala and West Bengal governments of lending a “helping hand to anti-national for forces for petty political interest”. He also praised the Centre over the handling of the Dokalam issue with China.

“Rohingyas, who were chased away from Myanmar, have infiltrated into the country and many more are ready to migrate illegally”, he said.

Giving shelter to Rohingyas will not only put pressure on our jobs but also pose a threat to national security, he said.

“Any decision regarding them should be taken keeping in mind that they will definitely be a threat to national security and integrity,” the RSS chief added.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani and Union minister Nitin Gadkari were present on the occasion. Dalit religious leader Baba Nirmal Das, who was expected to be the chief guest, could not attend the event as he was indisposed. His message was read out at the event.

Referring to the issue of cow vigilantism, Bhagwat said: “It is reprehensible that some people have been killed allegedly by gaurakshaks”.

“At the same time, many people have been killed by cow smugglers,” he said. Bhagwat said the issue of cow protection is beyond religion and “many Muslims have sacrificed their lives for the protection of the cow just as people of Bajrang Dal have”.

He noted that problems of the people, who were displaced from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, are yet to be addressed. “Necessary constitutional amendments will have to be made and old provisions will have to be changed in that state. Only when the constitutional amendments are done, can the residents of Jammu and Kashmir be completely assimilated with the rest of India,” Bhagwat said, apparently hinting at Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

There is an urgent need to take the benefits of development to the masses in the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including Jammu and Ladakh regions, without any discrimination and through transparent and clean governance, he said. “The problem of refugees is still not resolved in the state. For decades together, their generations are living in a miserable state as refugees for their decision to be in Bharat and remain as Hindu.

“Despite being the citizens of Bharat, they still don’t have basic facilities of education, employment and democratic rights,” Bhagwat said.

“The problems of permanent residents of the state, who migrated from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 1947 and the people who were displaced from Kashmir Valley in 1990 remain as they were,” he said.

Bhagwat said conditions should be created “so that our brothers can lead a happy, dignified and secure life like other Indians, by ensuring them equal democratic rights, even while remaining firm and devoted to their religion and national identity”.

“And for this just work, necessary constitutional amendments will have to be made and old provisions will have to be changed. Then and only then, the residents of Jammu and Kashmir can be completely assimilated with the rest of India and their equal cooperation and share will be possible in the national progress,” Bhagwat said.

On the Dokalam standoff, Bhagwat said, “In response to the activities of Pakistan on the western front and of China on the northern front, India’s strong and determined stand has been visible in the incidents like Dokalam on the borders as well as in international diplomacy.”
Targeting Kerala and West Bengal government for not doing enough against anti-national forces, he said, “The situation in Bengal and Kerala is known to all.

“The information of these anti-national activities reaches the Union government and they must take necessary steps to foil these nefarious designs,” he said.