Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday expressed concern about the lack of regulation of content on over the top platforms.
“At present, there is no regulation on OTT platforms,” Bhagwat said during his customary speech on the occasion of Dussehra in Nagpur. “A system without regulation poses the danger of anarchy.”
The RSS chief’s annual speech on the occasion holds significance as it lays out the organisation’s stands on a range of matters.
The RSS chief also raised concerns about “clandestine, uncontrolled currency like Bitcoin” and the increasing usage of mobile phones among children. “We know how forces opposed to the country can take advantage of these things,” he said. “So, the government should take timely measures to regulate them.”
Bhagwat’s remarks about OTT platforms come nearly nine months after the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology introduced the IT Rules. The rules seek to regulate social media companies, streaming and digital news content that will virtually bring these platforms, for the first time, under the ambit of government supervision.
Population policy
Bhagwat said that there were major differences in the population growth rates of various communities in India and also expressed concern about “uncontrolled infiltration of foreigners”.
“There is a growing imbalance of population in the entire country, particularly in regions close to the borders,” he claimed. “This can pose a grave threat to the country’s unity and cultural identity.”
Bhagwat said that in some districts of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, the population growth rate among Muslims was far greater than the national average. “This is a clear indication of uncontrolled infiltration from Bangladesh,” he claimed.
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Civilian killings in J&K
Bhagwat said that there is a need to ensure the emotional integration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India.
“Terrorists have once again resorted to targeted killings, particularly of Hindus, to break the resolve of patriotic citizens and to re-establish their empire of terror,” he said. “The citizens are facing this situation resolutely, but there is a need to accelerate efforts to end the activities of the terrorists.”
Since October 2, seven civilians have been shot dead in Kashmir.
Of these, four belonged to Hindu or Sikh minorities in the Valley. Three others were Kashmiri Muslim.
After every killing, The Resistance Front claimed responsibility and explained why they killed the victims. They had been killed because they were “agents of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”, “non-local Hindutva agents”, government “informers”, the statements had claimed.
On Hindu temples
In his speech on Friday, the RSS chief also said that the operating rights of some temples in the country must be handed over to citizens of the Hindu community, PTI reported.
In South India, Bhagwat observed, most Hindu temples are fully controlled by the state governments. “Many temples in India are also run by trusts,” he added. “In both the cases, we find instances of a good and bad management.”
He said the wealth of temples must be used for welfare of the people belonging to the Hindu community. “The wealth of Hindu temples is used for non-Hindus – who have no faith in Hindu gods,” the RSS chief said.
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