Very motivating: PM Modi praises RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijayadashami address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijayadashami address in Nagpur. The speech linked social unity and nation-building with a warning against regime-change protests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday praised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijayadashami address, calling it "very motivating", news agency Press Trust of India reported. PM Modi said Bhagwat raised a wide range of issues, including national progress, social unity, self-reliance and the need to strengthen the character of society. He also highlighted Bhagwat's emphasis on service and nation-building as integral to every RSS swayamsevak.

"A very motivating address by Param Pujya Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat Ji during the Shatabdi Varsh Shri Vijayadashami Utsav in Nagpur," PM Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister said Bhagwat also spoke about "Panch Parivartan" and how these could contribute meaningfully to positive social change.

PM Modi greeted RSS members on the organisation's foundation day. "Today, on the special occasion of RSS Sthapana Divas, my greetings to all Swayamsevaks," he said. "I also pay homage to all those greats who have nurtured the RSS over the years," he added.

PM Modi said the RSS had completed a remarkable century of service, nation-building and social harmony. "Countless Swayamsevaks have worked for society with a deep sense of duty and a nation-first spirit. May this spirit keep strengthening national development in the times to come," he said.

In his Vijayadashami address in Nagpur, Bhagwat said agitations seeking a change of government did not resolve fundamental problems. He warned that protests could become instruments of political interests and deepen divisions in society instead of providing solutions.

Bhagwat cited recent upheavals in Bangladesh, Nepal, France and Albania, saying forces pursuing their own interests used regime change to alter political circumstances, but rarely achieved the intended results. "They claim that changing a regime will change the situation, but that has never really happened," he said.

In the past fortnight, protests have been held in different parts of India seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Several social and political activists supporting the protests have also spoken about regime change in recent days.

Modi's remarks praised Bhagwat's focus on social unity, self-reliance, service and nation-building, while the RSS chief used his address to caution against protests centred on regime change.