Mohan Bhagwat says RSS does not support trolling on internet

NEW DELHI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said his organisation does not support online abuse or trolling and was against aggressive behaviour on the internet as it amounted to “hitting below the belt”.

Bhagwat was speaking at an interactive session with diplomats from more than 50 missions in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Right-wing trolls were criticised recently for their attack on journalist Gauri Lankesh after she was shot dead in Bengaluru last week.

“We do not support those who display such aggressive nature. We do not support trolling and aggressive behaviour on the net,” Prasar Bharati chairman A Surya Prakash, who was present at the event, quoted Bhagwat as saying through a series of tweets.



Diplomats who attended the breakfast meet organised by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav’s India Foundation asked Bhagwat several questions on the nature of the work the RSS did and the principles it worked on. Bhagwat said that the RSS didn’t run the BJP and the BJP did not run the Sangh. “As Swayamsevaks, we consult and exchange notes, but are independent in functioning.”

The RSS, he said, had 1.7 lakh social projects that work to alleviate poverty. Union minister Jayant Sinha was also present at the hour-long meeting.