NEW DELHI: The government’s strong action in the JNU row has found firm backing from the RSS which said the Centre should firmly deal with “anti-national and anti-social” elements in educational institutions.
At the annual Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha attended by its top leaders, the RSS also hit out at political parties and leaders who supported such activities in educational institutions, a reference to leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, who have been backing JNU students.
Senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, in his annual report, presented at the organisation’s annual meeting in Nagaur, Rajasthan, said, “How, in the name of freedom of expression, slogans calling for breaking up and destruction of nation, can be tolerated, and how those found guilty and punished as per the law of the land for indulging in terrorist acts be honoured and eulogised as ‘martyrs’? This is an anti-national act in itself...”
“More serious matter is that these subversive elements have made these universities their den for years and no action is initiated against them,” Joshi said, adding that as nationalist discourse was growing the anti-national and anti-social elements were feeling uneasy as was evident in Hyderabad and JNU.
Joshi also expressed serious concern over the issues related to temple entry for women, attacks on security forces and growing communal frenzy. Referring to the issue of women wanting entry into certain temples, the RSS accepted that due to some ‘unfair traditions’ there was discrimination against women, but advocated taking recourse to changing mindsets through proper discussions.
Joshi in his report also referred to the violent agitations in Gujarat and Haryana in the name of reservation and observed that these agitations weakened social harmony and eroded trust.