‘It is the right thing’: Former Army chief Naravane backs RSS general secretary Hosabale on dialogue with Pakistan | India News
New Delhi: Former Army chief General (retd) Manoj Mukund Naravane on Wednesday endorsed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosable for greater people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan, saying stronger ties between citizens of both sides could help improve bilateral ties.Also Read | ‘India should not close door to talks with Pakistan’: RSS General Secretary Dattatreya HosableHe said ordinary people on both sides of the border “have nothing to do with politics”.“Common people live on both sides of the border with common problems of ‘roti, kapada and makan’ (food, clothing and shelter). Politics has nothing to do with common people. When there is friendship between two countries, there will be friendship between the two countries,” Naravane told PTI.“This is the right thing to do. People-to-people communication is important,” added the former army chief.Naravan’s comments came a day after RSS second-in-command Hosabal, after Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, said India should keep channels of dialogue open with Pakistan.“If Pakistan tries to do an incident like Pulwama, we have to respond appropriately according to the situation… At the same time, we should not close our doors. We should always be ready to engage in dialogue,” Hosabale told PTI.“People-to-people ties can reduce India-Pakistan tensions as we have cultural ties and were once one nation. I strongly believe civil society engagement will eventually help normalize relations with Pakistan; it should be tried more now,” he added.Hosabale called on Pakistan’s athletes, scientists and members of civil society to “step forward” for peace, saying the neighboring country’s military “cannot be trusted”.The RSS is the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Narbane, who served as army chief from December 2019 to April 2022, made headlines in February after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi quoted a chapter on the India-China Ladakh crisis in his unpublished memoirs to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
