The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) swung marginally in favour of Hindustan Aeronautics in the Rafale purchase controversy by asserting that while it was necessary to provide security forces with state-of-the-art equipment even if it had to be procured from foreign nations, ‘the country cannot be assured about its security without the total self-reliance in the field of defence production even while continuing with the multilateral exchanges wherever necessary. The pace of national efforts in this direction has to be accelerated’.
In his traditional Vijayadashami address, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on allowing women into

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