Bhagwat affirms RSS' Hindu Rashtra vision; questions use of

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Tuesday that the RSS was firm on its vision of India as a "Hindu Rashtra".

Addressing the traditional Vijayadashmi function of the Sangh here, Bhagwat denied that RSS was Islamophobic, and objected to the use of the word "lynching" to describe incidents of mob violence in India.

He also said that too much discussion about "so-called slowdown" could be harmful, and indicated that the Sangh was not opposed to Foreign Direct Investment and divestment.

He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the government's move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, but said some vested interests do not want the country to be strong and vibrant.

Voicing his displeasure about incidents of mob violence, he said, "Lynching is not a word from Indian ethos, its origin is in a story in a separate religious text... Lynching itself is a western construct and one should not use it in the Indian context to defame the country."
Saying that well-intentioned statements of people in the government are misinterpreted on purpose, he added that "we must be alert in identifying these plots and counter them on intellectual and social levels."