New Delhi:
The BJP, which posted a lacklustre performance in the recently concluded assembly elections — got a public nudge from its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Addressing a group of RSS trainees in Nagpur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed concern this evening about the violence-hit Manipur.
Speaking about the northeastern state for the first time since violence broke out there in May last year, Mr Bhagwat said, “Manipur has been waiting for peace for a year. Violence has to be stopped and it has to be given priority”.
“We have made strides in many fields like economy, defence strategy, sports, culture, technology etc… That does not mean that we have overcome all the challenges,” he added.
Mr Bhagwat also had advice for the new government, indicating that its approach to both election and governance should be tweaked.
“Election is a process of building consensus. Parliament has two sides so that both aspects of any question can be considered,” Mr Bhagwat said in words that were seen as underscoring the importance of having an Opposition.
While the professed goal of the BJP has been a “Congress-free India (Congress-mukt Bharat)”, the Congress has bounced back in this election, hiking its 2019 score from 52 to 99. The mandate, while cutting down then BJP numbers to 240 — way below the majority mark of 272 — has given the Opposition 234 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Mr Bhagwat said the whys and wherefores of the mandate does not concern the Sangh.
“The Sangh works for refining public opinion in every election, did it this time also but does not get entangled in the analysis of the outcome,” he said.
But he also frowned upon negativity in election time, saying, “The way in which one party castigated each other, the misuse of technology, the spreading falsehood in election campaign… is not right… During the election competition is inevitable, but it should be based on truth”.