RSS affiliate gets support from over 13 lakh people for its boycott Chinese goods campaign

Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, says the objective of the digital signature campaign is to arouse awakening & commitment for swadeshi.

Chinese goods sold in India during Diwali (representational image) | Commons

New Delhi: RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch’s (SJM) digital signature campaign — aimed at supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ vision and boycotting of Chinese goods — has received over 13 lakh signatures so far. 

The campaign, which is a part of the SJM’s Swadeshi Swavlamban Abhiyan (Swadeshi Self-Reliance Campaign), was launched on 25 May. People can join the campaign by clicking on this link.

“Swadeshi Swavlamban Abhiyan was started on 20 May 2020. Under this, we started an exercise for digital signatures, with people taking the pledge to boycott Chinese goods. Until now, more than 13 lakh signatures have been received and the number is fast rising,” said Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convener of the SJM.

“On an average in the past few days, we have been getting one lakh signatures every day,” he added.

The tagline of the campaign is ‘Swadeshi Sweekar, Chinese Bahishkar, Swavalambi Bharat, Bhavishya Ka Aadhar’.

“This would be a true tribute to those who died while working tirelessly for the country. Boycott Chinese goods completely. This is what a true patriot will do — become part of the campaign,” according to a campaign leaflet.

‘Objective is to arouse commitment for swadeshi’

Talking about the campaign, Mahajan said the objective is to arouse awakening and commitment for swadeshi and self-reliance.

“Self-reliance would be achieved by rejuvenating indigenous industry, including small scale industries, small businesses, artisans, rural industries including food processing industry and other non-farm activities with an aim to generate inclusive growth with impetus on employment,” he said. 

Mahajan further said the government has already imposed restrictions on Chinese investments by making it mandatory to seek approval first. 

“After that, several restrictions have been imposed on imports from China, tenders by Chinese companies are being cancelled in big numbers and a few days ago, 59 Chinese apps were banned with immediate effect,” he added. 

Last week, senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi had said boycotting Chinese products is a natural reaction as swadeshi feeling is developing fast. He also pointed out this is a good opportunity for India to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ vision.

Last month, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had condemned the Chinese “military aggression” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and decided to step up its nationwide campaign to boycott Chinese goods. 

Following the violent face-off with Chinese soldiers in Eastern Ladakh that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan, the CAIT gave a call to boycott 450 broad categories of commodities, which have over 3,000 Chinese products.