Manipur should be given priority, violence must be stopped: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

Addressing a group of RSS trainees in Nagpur on Monday evening, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed concern about the violence-hit Manipur.

Speaking about Manipur for the first time since violence broke out in the northeastern state in May last year, Bhagwat said, "Manipur has been waiting for peace for a year. Violence has to be stopped and it has to be given priority".

"We have made strides in many fields like economy, defence strategy, sports, culture, technology etc... That does not mean that we have overcome all the challenges," he added.

Bhagwat also had a piece of advice for the newly formed government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicating that its approach to both election and governance should be tweaked.

"Election is a process of building consensus. Parliament has two sides so that both aspects of any question can be considered," Bhagwat said, underscoring the importance of having an Opposition.

While the professed goal of the BJP has been a "Congress-free India (Congress-mukt Bharat)", the Congress has bounced back in this election, hiking its 2019 score from 52 to 99.

The BJP numbers were restricted to 240, way below the majority mark of 272, which has given the Opposition 234 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Bhagwat said the whys and wherefores of the mandate do not concern the Sangh.

"The Sangh works for refining public opinion in every election, did it this time also but does not get entangled in the analysis of the outcome," he said.

However, he also frowned upon negativity in election time, saying, "The way in which one party castigated each other, the misuse of technology, the spreading falsehood in election campaign… is not right… During the election competition is inevitable, but it should be based on truth".