THE SANGH PARIVAR AND THE NARENDRA MODI GOVERNMENT

Mohan Bhagwat, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS): “Small, medium and micro businesses have to be strengthened because they give employment to many people... There should be a minimum support price for farmers so that they are able to look after their families. Agriculture is a big source of employment but small farmers are suffering because of reduction in prices, and vagaries of market and nature.”

Manmohan Vaidya, RSS: “People desert the border areas when they feel insecure and it is as much a responsibility of the civilians as that of the Army to make them feel secure.”

Brijesh Upadhyay, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh: “All the advisors in the government forums should be changed and the real stakeholders having a connect with the ground realities brought into policymaking. These Harvard University-educated people, with knowledge limited to the small states there, apply it in a huge country like India, which is not practical at all.”

Ashwini Mahajan, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch: “We are concerned about indications that your ministry is bringing out a new pharmaceutical policy, of which very little is known to the public of its scope, contours and substance… Our prime minister’s wish and declared policy is to provide affordable health to the poor by keeping prices of drugs low and ensuring easy and economical access to health services. However, we are constrained to state that the Department of Pharmaceuticals is working against the stated objectives of the prime minister.”