Idea that Islam will not remain is not Hindu thinking: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
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New Delhi (PTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said Islam will always have a place in India and made a strong pitch for Hindus and Muslims to have mutual trust in each other.
Addressing a question and answer session to mark the centenary celebrations of the RSS, Bhagwat said the Sangh does not believe in attacking anyone, including on religious grounds, and has always extended a helping hand to everyone during calamities such as the Kerala floods and the Gujarat earthquake.
The RSS chief said he believed religion was a matter of individual choice and there should be no allurement or force in this matter.
"Hindus and Muslims are the same... so there's no question of unity between them; only their form of worship has changed. We are already one. What is there to unite? What has changed? Merely the method of worship has changed; does it really make a difference?" Bhagwat asked.
He said Islam has been in India since time immemorial and has stayed on till date, and will remain in the future as well.
"The idea that Islam will not remain is not Hindu thinking. Both Hindus and Muslims need to have mutual trust in each other," Bhagwat said.
On the issue of changing the names of roads and towns bearing Muslim names, the RSS chief said his only insistence was that roads or towns should not be named after invaders.
"Invaders' names should not be there. I did not say there should be no Muslim names... APJ Abdul Kalam, Abdul Hameed’s names should be there," he said.
The RSS chief cited conversion and illegal migration as key reasons behind demographic imbalance in the country, and said the government is trying to curb infiltration and urged society also needs to play its part.
Bhagwat said jobs should not go to illegal migrants but to "our own people, including Muslims".
"Conversion and illegal migration are key reasons for demographic imbalance. We should not give jobs to illegal migrants; we should give jobs to our own people, including Muslims," he said.
The RSS chief was asked about the Sangh’s view on illegal immigration into the country.
Bhagwat said that he agreed with the contention that people of Bangladesh and India have the same DNA, but every country has its rules and regulations, and people willing to migrate should follow these rules.
"The entire world is ‘Kutumb’ (family), but every place has its own standards. Freedom is discipline also. Not allowing illegal migrants in the country doesn't contradict the concept of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'," Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat also dismissed allegations that the RSS had indulged in acts of violence.
"No organisation that engages in violence can reach 75 lakh places in Bharat or gain such support. If we were like that, would we be holding such programmes? We would be hiding underground somewhere," the RSS chief said.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
