Nagpur, Oct 20: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, on Tuesday, cautioned that regime-change movements rarely resolve fundamental problems, warning that protests could be exploited for political ends and deepen social divisions instead of delivering solutions.
Addressing the Sangh’s annual Vijayadashami Utsav gathering in Nagpur, Bhagwat cited recent upheavals in Bangladesh, Nepal, France and Albania, arguing that forces pursuing their own interests often use regime change to alter political circumstances without necessarily achieving the intended outcomes.
“They claim that changing a regime will change the situation, but that has never really happened,” he said.
Bhagwat argued that a stronger India would constrain such forces, making the country a target of attempts to weaken and divide it.
While some global powers wanted India to develop, he said, they did not want it to become too powerful, as that could challenge their dominance.
On protests in a democracy, the RSS chief said their purpose should be to resolve problems rather than deepen divisions within society.
“Problems will remain, and protests are inevitable in a democracy. But what should the purpose of protests be? They should be aimed at finding solutions,” he said.
He cautioned that protests could become instruments of political interests when driven by objectives other than public welfare, fuelling hostility towards individuals, groups or ideologies.
Bhagwat also urged political leaders, protesters and the administration to ensure that their actions did not foster bitterness or divisions in society.
“However intense our emotions may be, we must respect the limits set by our Constitution, the norms of civilised public discourse and standards of decent conduct,” he said.
PTI