Nagpur, June 5 (PTI) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the mutual understanding shown by the political class following the Pahalgam terror attack and action taken by India later should continue and become a permanent feature.

“The society also gave a message of unity,” Bhagwat said, addressing the concluding event of the Karyakarta Vikas Varg for RSS volunteers.

“After the heinous terror attack, people were sad and angry and wanted the culprits to be punished. Action was taken and punishment was meted out,” Bhagwat said.

Everyone saw the grit of our country’s decision makers in the action taken after the Pahalgam terror attack, he said.

“Action was taken after the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam. The valour of our army shone once again in it. The firmness of the administration was also seen.

“The political class also showed mutual understanding. The society also gave the message of its unity. This should remain continue and be a permanent feature,” he said.

India should be self-dependent in matters of our security, he said.

Without naming Pakistan, Bhagwat said, “Those who can’t win a direct fight with India want to bleed our country by the policy of a thousand cuts and waging proxy war.” Tribal leader Arvind Netam, who served in the cabinets of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao, was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s volunteer training camp.

The 25-day training camp, Karyakarta Vikas Varg Dwitiya, in which 840 volunteers from across the country participated, began on May 12 at Dr Hedgewar Smriti Mandir located in Reshimbag area of Nagpur.

Netam, who hails from Chhattisgarh, said no state government has so far taken the issue of religious conversions seriously. “I think RSS is the only institution which can help us in this area,” he said.

The RSS should pressure Central government to come out with an action plan after Naxalism ends, to ensure that the menace does not revive, he said.

Netam said no government implemented the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. “The Central government is mum and even helping the industrialists,” he added.

The PESA Act aims to ensure self-governance in tribal areas through Gram Sabhas, empowering them to manage resources and make decisions related to their communities. PTI ND VT VT