JOIN USRSS chief Mohan Bhagwat calls lynching in cow’s name 'anti-Hindutva'
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday denounced cow vigilantes, saying those lynching people in the name of cows are against Hindutva and law enforcing agencies should act against such "oppressors".
“If a Hindu says that no Muslim should live here, then that person is not a Hindu. Cow is a holy animal but the people who are lynching others in the name of cow protection are going against Hindutva. Law should take its own course against these oppressors (aattaayi) without any partiality," Bhagwat said addressing an event organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch on the theme ‘Hindustan First, Hindustani Best’.
Speaking at the event also attended by other senior RSS leaders Krishna Gopal, Indresh Kumar and Ram Lal, Bhagwat also released a book "The Meeting of Minds" penned by Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmed.
Calling the pitch for Hindu-Muslim unity a "misleading" affair, he insisted they are the same and one entity and urged Muslims to "don't get trapped in the cycle of fear that Islam is in danger in India."
The comments of the RSS chief at an event in Ghaziabad in UP come at a time BJP has gone into full throttle of preparations for the Assembly polls in the state nine months away.
Bhagwat laced his comments on cow vigilantes by adding that there had, however, also been some "false cases" in the name of lynching incidents.
Bhagwat's remarks are the second strong-worded denunciation of cow vigilantism by the saffron family four years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his first remarks on the issue in June 2017 said that killing people in the name of protecting the cow (gau bhakti) was “unacceptable” and went against the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.
Sending out a message of unity, Bhagwat said that it has been proven that we’re descendants of the same ancestors from the last 40,000 years and the people of India have the same DNA.
"Hindu and Musilm are not different but one. We are in a democracy. There can't be a dominance of Hindus or Muslims. There can only be the dominance of Indians," Bhagwat said but at the very outset clarified that he was attending the event neither for any image makeover nor for vote bank politics.
"The RSS is not interested in party politics. It has a view and that is not in anyone's favour but of the country. The Sangh supports those who speak for the country," he said.
Bhagwat sought to allay fears that majoritarianism is on the rise in India stressing that when atrocities take place against minorities, voices of protest come from the majority itself.
The RSS chief said development is not possible without unity in the country and held that the only solution to Hindu-Muslim conflict is dialogue, not discord.