Not attacking Pakistan in 2001 and 2008 was a mistake: RSS chief

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Says New Delhi needs military victory against Islamabad to curb terrorism
*Condemns fatwa restraining Muslims from singing Vande Mataram

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India committed a mistake by not attacking against Pakistan after the terror attacks on its parliament in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Thursday.

In an interview to a TV channel, he also criticised Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, saying he “speaks well but lacks action” and disagreed with the former’s stance on the use of force against the Maoists. He said the RSS did not favour force against the Maoists. The RSS is the patron organisation of all Hindu nationalist groups, including the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Bhagwat said India needed a military victory against Pakistan to tackle terrorism, adding the “two nation” theory was not acceptable to the RSS. He said his party’s stance on Article 370 of the Indian constitution would never weaken. The article guarantees special status for Indian-held Kashmir, a uniform civil code and the Ram Mandir.



Fatwa:

He also condemned terrorism from across the border and the recent fatwa by Muslim cleric, directing Muslims not to sing the Indian national song ‘Vande Mataram’.

Bhagwat rejected former premier VP Singh’s formula to build both a temple and a mosque in Ayodhya, saying, “This will not create unity. If the Ram Mandir is built peacefully, it will end the Hindu-Muslim conflict. A mosque can’t be constructed at the same site. Let them construct another mosque at some other place and the Hindus will extend all possible help.”

On why the RSS was unwilling to help minorities feel safe and that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi owed an apology for the Gujarat massacre, he said, “Violence is wrong wherever it happens. Don’t just look at one side. What happened in Godhra should not have happened. No one talks about the killings at Godhra.”

On Modi’s apology, he retorted, “He is the head of a state, he has full knowledge of what happened and is capable of reacting. If he thinks something needs an apology, then he will apologise. I am sure. Why should he apologise if he has not done anything wrong?”

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