ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

RSS wants Bangladeshis, English driven out

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Professor Rajendra Singh said on Thursday, October 1, that the Coimbatore bomb blasts targeting Union Home Minister Lal Kishinchand Advani had exposed the lapses in the country's internal security.

Addressing the annual Dassera rally of the RSS in Nagpur, the sarsanghachalak said the investigation into the blasts had shown how deep inroads the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence had made in faraway Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The involvement of two Muslim organisations in the blasts further showed that enemies of the country had made full use of the Bangladeshi infiltrators, he added.

Singh said that in view of the involvement of Bangladeshis in anti-national activities, it had become imperative to expel them from the country. When Muslim countries were driving them out, why should there be any objection to their deportation from India, he wondered.

In his 45 minute address, the RSS chief hailed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for addressing the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi. Every Indian was elated by Vajpayee's action, he said, and remarked that the domination of English in school and college curricula must end and regional languages must get their due importance.

He expressed the opinion that the dropsy cases in Delhi and other states caused by the adulteration of edible oil was part of a conspiracy to defame the government.

Joginder Singh, former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, presided over the rally attended, for the first time, by Paul Mailhot, first secretary to the United States embassy, and Yoshifumi Okamura, political counsellor of the Japanese embassy.

The RSS chief expressed concern at the growing corruption in high places. The delay in punishing those guilty of corruption had shaken the confidence of the common man in the judiciary, he said.

Speaking earlier, Joginder Singh exhorted the RSS leadership to take the initiative in combating corruption on a war footing since "the present government listens to you".

Rajendra Singh said there was a marked improvement in Kashmir, reflected in the increase in tourist traffic to that state. It also showed that the Muslims of the valley had realised that it was not in their interests to allow terrorist activities. Even America had become a victim of Muslim fundamentalists who blasted their embassies in Africa, he remarked.

He hoped Pakistan and other countries would ultimately stop aiding and abetting terrorist activities.

Singh said it augured well for the country that a government led by persons taking pride in Hindutva had come to power this year. That it was unable to fulfil the expectations of the people only showed that the country could not expect much by merely changing a few ministers or parliamentarians. The whole bureaucratic set-up must also change, he remarked.

He, however, said the Vajpayee government had done well despite its limitations. Its most significant achievement was the nuclear tests in May. It had increased the self-confidence of the Indian people and made Indian nuclear scientists R Chidambaram and A P J Abdul Kalam known in every household.

Singh stressed the need not to get carried away by the economic reforms initiated by previous governments. Drinking Coca-Cola or Pepsi and wearing Peter England shirts should not be mistaken for reforms, he said. Indian agriculture and cottage industries should not be neglected in the name of reforms, he added.

The RSS chief expressed concern at the cultural invasion from the skies. The cultural pollution through Doordarshan had led to a spurt in crime, he remarked.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report