Ministers attend ‘classes’ of RSS

New Delhi: Setting the agenda for the Narendra Modi government, RSS leaders on Thursday asked Union home minister Rajnath Singh to make a strong intervention in Maoist-affected areas, and to reach out to people living in the shelling-affected border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

The RSS urged Mr Singh to reach out to people in areas hit by Maoist violence in a big way to wage a decisive war against the Naxalites.

The second day of the RSS conclave in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area saw several Union ministers rushing to make presentations and taking feedback and suggestions from the saffron outfit’s functionaries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the conclave on Friday.

After Mr Singh made a presentation on internal security at the conclave, a few RSS functionaries asked him to reach out to ordinary citizens living in Naxal-affected areas to weed out Maoists in a decisive manner, sources said.

The government was also urged to pursue the issue of Article 370 more vigorously, while RSS functionaries also asked what steps the MHA was taking towards the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code, the sources said.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar briefed the delegates on the border issue with China.

The RSS leaders, the sources said, asked HRD minister Smriti Irani to take steps to “Indianise” education at the primary level, with focus on Sanskrit and awareness of India’s ancient history.

They also asked her to ensure that more funds were spent on education, besides promoting local languages.

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh had earlier made a presentation to the conclave on Wednesday where he had discussed the state of affairs in farming.

The RSS leaders reportedly raised the issue of rising food prices, especially vegetables and fruits.

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh said that steps ought to be taken to make agriculture a profitable venture.