Bhagwat says polarisation not good for country, desist from offending others

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that hate mongering and  polarisation were not good for the society, as the country could progress only when there was communal harmony .

The RSS leader was clearly of the view that a communally polarised society  hindered progress , and therefore people should desist from hate speeches and avoid offending others, which  creates distances between communities, former  chief election commissioner SY Qureshi, who recently had a meeting with Mr Bhagwat, told India News Stream.

Along with Mr Quraishi, other Muslims intellectuals who were part of a five-member delegation at the meeting included former Lt Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, former Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and industrialist and philanthropist Saeed Sherwani.

The agenda of the meeting that lasted for more than one and a half hour, was to discuss measures to improve the communal atmosphere which has recently been deteriorating further, with the Hijab and Gyanvapi controversy being the latest issues used to create  polarisation.

”The discussions were wide ranging and took place in a very cordial atmosphere,” Quraishi said.

It is learnt that a plan to chalk out a strategy to improve intra-community relations was also discussed.

During the meeting, there were suggestions that Gandhian philosophy and late South African President Nelson Mandela’s approach for strengthening the bond between communities should be followed, a PTI report said.

Recently the RSS leaders have held meetings with other Muslim leaders and intellectuals too. Earlier, Mr Bhagwat had met Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind head Maulana Syed Arshad Madani at the RSS office in the national capital and two years back he had held a meeting with Muslim intellectuals in a hotel in Mumbai.

—- INDIA NEWS STREAM