RSS to laud Art 370 abrogation, may seek nationwide NRC

By Anindya Banerjee

Pushkar, Sep 6 (IANS) Kashmir will be the single biggest talking point at the RSS' three-day conclave at Pushkar starting on Saturday where a demand for a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) may also come up, sources said.

Sources say, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh may also pass a resolution to "thank" Prime Minister Narendra Modi for paying heed to its longstanding demand of axing the contentious Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special powers to Kashmir.

Ever since the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was published, a sizeable Bengali-speaking Hindu population was excluded from the list.

Even Assam state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, it is India's "responsibility" to take care of Hindus, a veiled reference to the Citizenship Bill. The RSS is likely to demand protection of the excluded Hindu population in Assam due to NRC.

But that doesn't reflect the RSS' opposition to the concept of NRC. An RSS source in Delhi told IANS that there's a strong likelihood of the Sangh demanding a nationwide NRC in the future.

This conclave is precisely for coordination, consultation and stocktaking of the work done by its different affiliates. A slew of RSS offshoots like Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Laghu Udyog Bharati, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh will take part in the conclave.

One of the main goals of the Sangh is to chalk out its expansion plan across the nation. A few days ago in Bengal in a closed door meeting, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stressed on the same issue of expansion of the organistaion.

But such RSS meetings encourage any views to be expressed, even if that is critical of policies by the BJP-led NDA government. Economic slowdown will also be a big talking point.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch is likely to raise the issue of Walmart's growing presence in India while Bharatiya Kisan Sangh is likely to raise the issue of farmer harassment by multinationals like PepsiCo recently in Rajasthan.

One such meeting in September 2017 had criticised some policies of the Modi government. The role of a former influential BJP minister came under sharp criticism in the conclave of 2017 in Mathura which was later communicated to BJP President Amit Shah.

The conclave is called 'Akhil Bhartiya Samannyay Baithak' (All India Coordination Meeting) and will kick off on September 7 and conclude on September 9.

Apart from RSS chief Bhagwat, it will be attended by the top RSS leadership including RSS 'Sahkaryawah' (general secretary) Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi and joint general secretaries Krishna Gopal and Dattatreya Hosabale, among others.

(Anindya Banerjee can be contacted at anindya.b@ians.in)