Bhagwat maintains silence on Ghar Wapsi issue

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat today refrained from speaking about the controversial 'Ghar Wapsi' issue here at the organisation's mega meet where he said Hindu society has been for years maintaining that other religions would also have to be accepted.
The Sangh's Ghar Wapsi programme grabbed headlines recently for derailing the development agenda on which the Narendra Modi government was elected.
Bhagwat's refrain from touching upon the controversial issue came after senior Sangh pracharak Rajeshwar Singh, who is convenor of the Dharm Jagran Samanway Samiti spearheading the Ghar Wapsi (re-conversion) programme, was sent on leave by RSS.
Addressing the last mega meeting of RSS in Kolkata on December 20, last year, Bhagwat had strongly defended the Ghar Wapsi programme carried out by the Hindutva outfit by saying, "They have been allured and have been forcefully taken away. When the thief is being caught and my property has been recovered, when I am taking back my property what is new in it? If you do not like conversion, bring a law against it."

However, the situation seems to have changed after a reported meeting between Modi and Bhagwat in New Delhi last week.
Today, the RSS Supremo said that while other religions of the world teach tolerance, Hindu society has been for years saying that other religions would also have to be accepted.

"They (other religions) said that these people (who follow other religion) are not good, but you have to tolerate them, but Hinduism says that you have to accept everybody because everyone has an element of the best," he said.
"This Indian culture, which is a Sanatan culture, teaches us to see the God in everything. We see and address the cow, the tulsi plant and Ganga river as God," he said.

Bhagwat insisted on creating "a strong Hindu society" which is able to repulse any attack against it.