In an attempt to clear cloud over raging controversy over shouting “Bharat Mata ki jai” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that no one should be forced to raise this slogan instead efforts should be made to take India to a new height where our achievements are hailed globally and people would voluntarily shout Bharat Mata ki Jai.
“There is no need to force people to shout Bharat Mata ki jai we need to create strong India. This could be done by scaling new heights. If we do it people will themselves shout Bharat Mata ki jai,” Bhagwat said while inaugurating Rajju Bhaiya Bhawan here on Monday.
Bhagwat’s remark came after BJP patriarch lK Advani termed the controversy over the slogan “meaningless”. Advani had said in Gandhinagar, “I don’t want to comment on it. This is a meaningless controversy (‘yeh ek vyarth vivad hai’)”.
On Monday RSS chief tried to play down the controversy. “People should themselves chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai on the basis of our achievements. Why should we need to force it on others,” he said adding: “Our achievements should be such that not only in India people across the world should say Bharat Mata Ki Jai because we are strong and scaled new heights.”
The RSS chief said, “We (India) have to show the way to the people of the world with our life and deeds. We do not want to win or defeat anyone. We don’t want to impose our ideology and thoughts on anyone. We wish to show them the path because we accept them as our own.
He said that RSS was thriving to raise people who would think more about the country than themselves.
“We should give more to the society than we take from it. But general motto is earn wealth and spend it on luxury. No one thinks about society. The time has come for us to think about society; our neighbourhood and our country,” the RSS chief said.
“We cannot compartmentalise the world like me and them. India thrives on the principle of ‘Vasudhaive Kutumbakam’ — world is one family. This is the core philosophy of India and we should preserve it,” Bhagwat said.
He said in this scenario we cannot and should not force people to raise slogans like Bharat Mata ki Jai.
“If RsBharat Mata ki JaiRs has to be established in the entire world, if Bharat has to be built as a prosperous, equitable and exploitation free nation, it is imperative for all to live that Bharat in us,” said Bhagwat.
The RSS boss had stirred a controversy recently with his remark that the younger generation needed to be taught to hail “Mother India”.
In apparent retaliation, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had said he would not chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ as he was not obliged to do it under the Constitution and that he would not do so even if a “knife is put to my throat”.
The issue snowballed into a political slugfest with the Shiv Sena, BJP and other parties slamming the Hyderabad MP over his stand. Maharashtra Assembly suspended an AIMIM MlA after he refused to chant the slogan, while the Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed a censure motion condemning Owaisi.