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NAGPUR, Oct 11: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today batted for grant of State citizenship rights to Hindu refugees in Jammu and Kashmir and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to leave the Valley due to militancy.
He said the State Government 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.
The situation in the State is a matter of concern, he said.
“Many issues continue to hang fire. During the partition and subsequently many Hindu refugees were displaced from Pak-occupied Kashmir and arrived there. Sheikh Abdullah assured them that they will be given their rights. Their third generation is living there. They don’t have State citizenship rights. They don’t have ration cards and jobs. How long will they wait?”, asked Bhagwat.
“For decades, Kashmiri Pandits have been living outside. They should live where they used to and be sure of their protection as patriots and Hindus. Such circumstances should be created and they be given justice,” he said in his Dussehra address.
Their dreams will have to be fulfilled, he said, adding that only then people will believe that they are being taken care of in the same way other States are working for their citizens.
The issue of grant of citizenship rights to Hindu refugees in the State has been a controversial one there with parties like National Conference and PDP expressing reservation over it.
The State Government, which is headed by PDP in alliance with BJP, should see to it that a transparent and clean administration is there, Bhagwat said.
Despite lot of money being pumped into the State, development work is not happening and people wonder where all the money is going, he said.
Those creating trouble should be dealt firmly, he said, claiming that there is no trouble in entire regions of Jammu and Ladakh, besides a large part of Kashmir.
Bhagwat lauded the Army for carrying out surgical strikes, saying it has enhanced India’s prestige in the world and given the message to trouble-makers that there is a limit to its patience.
“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.
The whole world is aware that the subversive activities constantly promoted from across the border are mainly responsible for disturbances in the Kashmir valley, he said.
With thousands of RSS functionaries in their new uniform of dark brown trousers instead of khaki shorts in attendance, he said the “firmness and efficiency shown in the matter of diplomacy and defence should permanently reflect in our policies”.
“A level of perpetual co-ordination and co-operation is needed among in the Defence forces and intelligence agencies as we have to pay a heavy price for a moment’s distraction,” he said.
Bhagwat also stressed on 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.
On Kashmir, Bhagwat said that “whole of Kashmir including Mirpur, Muzzafarabad, Gilgit and Baltistan are an inseparable and integral part of India.”
He also said that the “discriminatory” approach of the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the State administration towards Jammu and Ladakh should end immediately.
“Only if Jammu and Kashmir Government and the administration act with a nationalistic feeling and perform (their duties) in a clean, considerate, impartial and transparent way, the people of the State will have simultaneous feeling of victory and confidence, and the process of assimilation of the people in the valley will move forward,” he said.
“There is an urgent need to promote, consolidate and establish nationalistic activities and forces in those areas. The Central and the State Government must work in tandem,” he added.
Expressing concern over the prevailing condition in Jammu and Kashmir, Bhagwat said the diplomatic moves at international level and strong resolve of the Government and Parliament are welcome initiatives but need to be implemented with firmness.
Bhagwat also lauded the Central Government for inspiring confidence among people across the nation.
“A sense of disappointment among people all over the country has vanished due to acceleration of developmental work by the Government,” Bhagwat claimed.
“The Government has built some measure of confidence, therefore the nation, it appears is moving forward,” he said.
He also targeted the Opposition, saying those who could not make it to the echelons of power are busy formulating strategies for political gains.
Bhagwat said they are finding shortcomings and inadequacies of the Government and the administration.
Dirty tricks being played are a matter of grave concern, he said warning people against fundamentalists, extremists, divisive and selfish forces area working in the world.
Former bureaucrat, Satyaprakash Rai, a Indian Economics Service (IES) officer of the 1976 batch was the chief guest on the occasion.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister for Transport and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari and playback singer Anuradha Paudwal were among those present on the occasion. (PTI)
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