RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said political parties didn't maintain decorum during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Addressing an RSS event in Maharashtra's Nagpur, he said a true sevak (the one who serves the people) never shows arrogance and always maintains decorum in public life.
"A true sevak maintains decorum while working… The one who maintains decorum does his work, but remains unattached. There is no arrogance that I did this. Only such a person has the right to be called a sevak,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.
Mohan Bhagwat also mentioned violence-hit Manipur in his address, saying the state has been waiting for peace for over a year.
“Manipur has been looking for peace for a year now. It should be discussed on priority. The state had been peaceful for the past 10 years. It felt like the old 'gun culture' had come to a demise. It is still burning in the fire of the sudden tension that rose there or that was made to rise there. Who will pay attention to that? It is the duty to prioritise it and take note of it,” said the RSS chief, per ANI.
His remark came a day after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India for the third time in a row.
{{/usCountry}}His remark came a day after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India for the third time in a row.
{{/usCountry}}Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities.
Mohan Bhagwat said electoral politics is a competition, not war.
"Elections are an essential process of democracy, there are two parties in it, hence there is competition, if there is competition then there is a task of moving one forward and pushing others backwards. Don't use it, why are people getting elected? They will go and sit in the Parliament and run the country, they will run it by building consensus, our tradition is to run by building consensus. The mind and psyche of each person are different, hence it is not possible to have similar opinions, but when people in the society decide to move together despite having different minds, then mutual consent is formed. There are two parties in Parliament so both sides are exposed, it is a bit difficult to reach a consensus among people who have come into competition, that is why we take the hope of a majority, there is competition, not mutual war," Bhagwat added.
He rued that RSS was dragged into the elections.
"The way we started criticizing each other, and the way our actions in the campaign would increase discord in the society, divide two groups, and create mutual suspicion, was also not taken care of, and organizations like Sangh were also drawn into this, technology falsehoods were served with props, absolute lies; gentlemen do not use this science", he added.
The RSS chief stressed it is important to follow decorum during the elections.
"There is decorum even in contesting elections, that decorum was not followed, because it is necessary to follow decorum because the challenges before our country have not ended", he said.
Mohan Bhagwat lauded the Narendra Modi government for achieving a lot in several fields. He, however, pointed out that India is not "free from challenges."
After a noise campaign by both sides, the NDA emerged victorious in the national elections as it won 293 seats. The Opposition's INDIA bloc won 234 seats.
With inputs from ANI