Mohan Bhagwat’s comments come days after his controversial remark that constitutional reforms needed for J&K people to be “assimilated” with rest of India
New Delhi: There is no need for reforms in the Constitution as it was written by “some very good people” who “have taken care of fundamental rights of every citizen while drafting it”, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is believed to have told a select group of people in the capital Friday.
Coming close on the heels of his controversial remark on Jammu and Kashmir, Bhagwat’s latest comments were aimed at securing the feedback of intellectuals and civil society leaders on tricky subjects like constitutional reforms, sources told ThePrint.
On Vijayadashmi, Bhagwat said at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur that “necessary” constitutional amendments were required for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to be “completely assimilated” with the rest of the country.
Sources said that the RSS chief took note of all suggestions that came up during his interaction with heads of 50-odd organisations including educationists, bankers, bureaucrats, social workers and industry leaders.
“Asked whether words such as ‘socialism’ and ‘secular’ should remain in the Constitution, Bhagwat said this could be debated upon,” a source said.
Bhagwat is also learnt to have told participants that concepts of secularism and socialism can be “interpreted differently by different people”.
Though the RSS tried to underplay the meeting as a routine event, sources said that this was an attempt by the Sangh to check the pulse of leaders from various fields and professions. It is understood that many participants expressed their views on constitutional reforms they said are long overdue.
Bhagwat also received a few suggestions as to whether the phrase “India that is Bharat” should be replaced with just “Bharat” and told the participants that there is scope to discuss this issue as well, sources added.
Expressing anguish at the red tape in the system, some retired and serving bureaucrats urged the RSS chief to look into the possibility of a law that could punish officers for causing delays in government projects.
“To this suggestion, Bhagwat said that their concerns will be directed to the right channel,” added the source.
There were also concerns regarding growing political violence in Kerala, to which Bhagwat said that the RSS was aware of the situation on the ground.
Over the past few months, the RSS chief has been holding similar meetings with intellectuals and foreign diplomats in what is being seen as an attempt to “dispel myths” about the Sangh and its workings.