RSS distances itself from mob lynchings, says Sangh shouldn't be 'defamed' for stray instances of violence

At a time when Congress and the Opposition are going hammer and tongs after the Narendra Modi government in Parliament on issues of cow vigilantism and mob lynching, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has made it clear that cow protection has been part of India’s tradition for decades. “Cow protection has been going on for years in India. But the Sangh does not support any kind of violence, and strict action should be taken as per law against those who commit violence,” said RSS Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh, Manmohan Vaidya in Jammu on Thursday. He further insisted that the Sangh shouldn’t be “defamed” for these stray incidents of violence. [caption id=“attachment_3034252” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Prior to the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which began on Monday, Congress had chalked out its strategy to aggressively target the NDA government on increasingly frequent cases of mob vigilantism, as revealed in a dossier prepared by the All India Congress Committee’s research department. Accordingly, the Congress launched a scathing attack on BJP on the floor of the Parliament on 19 and 20 July. The statement made by the Sangh is in sync with the one made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 20 July in Rajya Sabha, when the latter dealt at length with the constitutional obligation of cow protection. Jaitley clearly said that there could be no justification of this violence. “All sides have condemned the violence and the prime minister has also severely condemned and spoken about it three times. But just as killing of a human being in the name of cow protection has to be unequivocally condemned, nobody should also say that they see nothing wrong with cow slaughter,” Jaitley had said. After the valedictory session of the Akhil Bhartiya Prant Pracharak Baithak, a three-day meeting of top office bearers and regional and state functionaries of the Sangh in Jammu from 18 to 20 July, Vaidya said that under the guidance of scientists, in more than 1,000 gaushalas (cow shelters), research has been continuing on the by-products from indigenously developed cows. Expressing serious concern over infiltration and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the Sangh made it clear that there should be no compromise on the issue of militancy and fundamentalism, and that these should be sternly dealt with. The RSS also emphasised the need to debate the issue of extending minority status to Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to infiltration of Rohingyas in Jammu and those from Bangladesh in eastern part of India, Vaidya said that from the very beginning, RSS has considered it a matter of security for the country. “Every illegal intruder should be identified and efforts should be made to send them back after consulting with their respective countries. The identity of this country is that of Hindutva and there is a tradition of wishing everyone’s happiness,” he asserted. The Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak meeting is being conducted every year and state and zonal organisers and Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarini Sadasya (office bearers) participate. According to sources, besides discussions on Sangh Shiksha Varga (education) and the expansion of Sangh’s work, close-door discussions were held on various issues ranging from cow protection, terrorism, Kashmir to border security and infiltration problem. While assigning responsibilities to its karyakartas and pracharaks (functionaries) and preparing a work roadmap, the Sangh took stock of the functioning of its shakhas, both in urban and rural areas. There are 2,965 pracharaks and vistaraks across the country.