Gorakhpur,October 17 :Expressing surprise at the suggestion made by Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan that a referendum should be held in Kashmir, the RSS today said he is speaking the language of separatists.
RSS General Secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said the Sangh Parivar can never agree to a referendum in Kashmir.
“Kashmir is an integral part of India. We cannot accept any such suggestion. The people of this country will never agree to it. This is the language and vocabulary of the separatists. It is very surprising that such language has been used (by Bhushan),” he said.
Bhushan was beaten up by some right-wing activists in his chamber in the Supreme Court last week after he advocated plebiscite in Kashmir. Though RSS has criticised Bhushan’s stand, it has condemned the violence against him. Joshi was speaking to reporters here after the three-day National Executive Meet of the RSS ended today.
Both the RSS and the BJP are in favour of abrogation of Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The RSS also says its ultimate aim is to integrate PoK into India.
At the RSS conclave here, the 1994 Parliament resolution in this regard was emphasised.
Joshi also spoke on civil rights activist Anna Hazare and his Jan Lokpal movement.
“It is Anna who has called the support from RSS a conspiracy. He should be asked why he said so,” Joshi said adding though no senior functionary of the RSS had met Hazare before his fast at Ramlila ground, the Sangh had expressed its support through a letter.
The Communal and Targeted Violence Bill was also discussed at the RSS conclave.
“The Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, which has been prepared by the National Advisory Council, will hurt the unity of the country. It is a bill aimed at dividing the country into minority and majority.
“It treats even the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as a minority and so intends to divide the Hindu society as well. We do not want such a legislation. It’s not in the interest of the country, the society as a whole or even any section of the society,” Joshi said.
A resolution on the growing threat to India from neighbouring countries, especially China, was also discussed and passed during the meet.
“China is building all kinds of infrastructure on its borders. We expect our government to make adequate infrastructure on our borders, be it in Leh-Ladakh, Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh. We therefore, request the government to take appropriate steps in this direction,” he said.
The RSS also plans to celebrate Swami Vivekanand’s 150 birth anniversary in 2013 through several programmes across the country.
A discussion on pollution in the Ganga river was also held at the conclave. The RSS plans to launch several programmes in this regard.
Activist lambasts Anna Hazare for calling J&K integral part of India
Noted social activist and Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey on Sunday lambasted Anna Hazare for calling Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India.
“Anna has been in military. If you serve in government and especially the armed forces obviously it will be difficult to overcome the feeling of nationalism”, Pandey said when asked about Anna’s statement.
“People like us who believe in Gandhian philosophy feel nationalism, caste, region or religion has divided people. Entire problem is about the concept of nation state. We have to get rid of this concept and have a world where there are no national boundaries”.
Medha Patkar, however, echoed view of Anna calling J&K as integral part of India.
ANTI-CORRUPTION crusader Anna Hazare had visited the Valley in 1998 after pro-independence separatist leader Yasin Malik criticised human rights activists and Gandhians in Mumbai for “deliberately neglecting human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir”. “Anna came to Srinagar and visited my Maisuma residence. He talked about atrocities on Kashmiris, human rights violations and advocated restoration of their political rights,” Malik, also the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman, said. But now Anna speaks in a different voice, he said, referring to Team Anna’s Noida resolution on Friday that Kashmir is an integral part of India. On Sunday a member of Team Anna said in Srinagar that the solution to the Kashmir problem could be found within the framework of the Constitution.
Noted activist Medha Patkar was in the Valley to flag off a yatra against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. She shared the dais with hardline Hurriyat Conference member Zamrooda Habib, Independent legislator Engineer Abdur Rashid, Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey and Parveena Ahanger, chief of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons. The yatra, in support of Irom Sharmila, will cover 10 states and culminate in Imphal on October 27 outside the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital where the anti- AF(SP)A activist is admitted. Anna was the only Gandhian who visited Malik.
“He stayed there for two days and then went to some villages of Pulwama in South Kashmir,” the leader added. Malik rapped Anna for allegedly changing his stance. “His statement (on Kashmir being an integral part of India) indicates he is a follower of Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse. He is wearing RSS knickers under Gandhi’s khadi,” Malik said.