Need to regulate OTT content, crypto: RSS chief in Dussehra address

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said terrorists are resorting to targeted killings of minorities in Jammu and Kashmir to instil fear in the minds of people, and asserted that military preparedness on the borders needs to be alert and sound on all ends and at all times.

Addressing the annual Vijayadashmi rally at Reshimbagh ground in Nagpur, Bhagwat made a pitch for a review and reformulation of the National Population Policy keeping the next 50 years in mind.

Bhagwat also emphasised the need to control the content on OTT and said at present unregulated broadcast of varied material on these platforms are 'open for everyone's indiscriminate consumption'.

Expressing concern over cryptocurrency, he said clandestine, uncontrolled currency like Bitcoin has the potential to destabilise the economy of all countries and pose serious challenges.

Referring to his recent visit to Jammu and Kashmir, he said after the nullification of special powers vested to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, common people are reaping benefits. But taking a step ahead, efforts need to be taken for emotional integration the rest of the country.

"The minds should meet. The relation of any Indian with the country is not a business transaction. We need to inculcate that feeling in the minds of people of Kashmir," Bhagwat said.

The government and people are working towards it and these efforts have to be stepped up, he stressed.

"After (nullification of special provisions of Article 370), the fear for them (terrorists) has vanished. But since they would use fear to achieve their means, (they feel) it is important for them to bring back that fear (in the minds of people).

"This is why they resort to targeted killings to demoralise, as they would do before. Their objective is to again instil fear," he said, referring to the recent killings of Sikhs and Hindus in the Valley.

The government has to deal this with them effectively so that the battle can be won, he added.

His statement comes in the wake of the killing of at least seven civilians in Jammu and Kashmir by militants in just five days earlier this month. Of those killed, four belonged to minority communities and six of the deaths were reported in Srinagar.

Speaking about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Bhagwat said their predisposition, 'passionate fanaticism, tyranny and terrorism in the name of Islam' is sufficient to make everyone apprehensive of them.

But now China, Pakistan and Turkey have coalesced in an 'unholy coalition' with the Taliban, he said.

"We cannot retire in complacency. Our military preparedness on the borders needs to be alert and sound on all ends and at all times," he said.

In such a situation, the internal security and stability of the country must be secured by the government and the society with caution and vigilance, he added.

Bhagwat said efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in the domain of defence and security and to become up-to-date with newer concerns like cyber security must be ramped up.

"We should be self-sufficient at the earliest when it comes to domains like security," he said.

On OTT platforms, Bhagwat said in the backdrop of the pandemic online education was to be introduced. School-going children are hooked on mobile phones as a rule.

"In the absence of prudence and a regulatory framework, it will become difficult to predict in which way and to what extent will this emerging phenomenon of contact with fair and unfair means sweep our society," he said.

He further said to what extent anti-national forces wish to use these means is well-known.

"Therefore, the government must make efforts to regulate these affairs in no time," he added.

On management of temples, he said some under the government are functioning well.

Some temples are very clean and help the society and some run by devotees are also functioning well, he said.

"There is a loot where such things are not functioning properly. Few temples completely lack any system of governance. Instances of misappropriation of movable and immovable properties of temples have come to light.

"The wealth of Hindu temples is used for non-Hindus -- who have no faith in the Hindu Gods. Even Hindus need it, but it is not used for them," Bhagwat said.

He said there are Supreme Court orders related to the management of temples.

"It has said that no one else can be the owner, but God. The priests are only the managers. It has also said that the government can take control of it for management only for some time, but then it has to return the ownership.

"So a decision on this needs to be taken properly. And a decision also needs to be taken on how should the Hindu society maintain these temples," he added.

According to Bhagwat, societal consciousness is still skewed with caste-based sentiments.