Ockhi: Modi holds meeting with officials in Lakshadweep

Agencies

December 19, 2017

Kochi, Dec 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting at Kavaratti in Lakshadweep to review the situation arising due to Cyclone Ockhi which left a trail of destruction in the Union Territory.

Modi, who reached the island this morning, was received by top officials of the Lakshadweep administration and public representatives, including Lakshadweep MP Muhammed Faizal.

"PM @narendramodi reviewed the situation arising due to #CycloneOckhi at a high-level meeting in Lakshadweep," a tweet by the Prime Minister's Office said.

Earlier today, youngsters of Lakshadweep extended a warm welcome to the prime minister, it tweeted said.

Besides, Modi will visit the cyclone-battered areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala today.

During his visit to the southern states, Modi will visit coastal Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram where he will meet officials and public representatives as well as the cyclone victims, including the fishermen, and farmers' delegations.

Parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep were severely affected by the cyclone late last month and early this month.

The prime minister has constantly been monitoring the situation arising out of the natural calamity in the southern parts of the country.

A PMO statement had yesterday said the Centre released the second instalment from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for Kerala and Tamil Nadu to supplement the efforts of these states in dealing with the situation.

"During financial year 2017-18, the amounts of the central share of the SDRF to the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu were Rs 153 crore and Rs 561 crore respectively," it had said.

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‘No constitutional approval required’: RSS chief says ‘India already a Hindu nation’

News Network

December 22,2025

Kolkata: Stressing that India is a "Hindu nation," Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that no constitutional approval is needed as it is the "truth".

Addressing an event marking 100 years of the RSS, Bhagwat said that India is, and will remain, a Hindu nation until Indian culture is appreciated in the country.

"The Sun rises in the east; we don't know since when this has been happening. So, do we need constitutional approval for that, too? Hindustan is a Hindu nation. Whoever considers India their motherland appreciates Indian culture, as long as there is even one person alive on the land of Hindustan who believes in and cherishes the glory of Indian ancestors, India is a Hindu nation. This is the ideology of the Sangh," he said at the '100 Vyakhyan Mala' program of RSS in Kolkata.

"If Parliament ever decides to amend the Constitution and add that word, whether they do it or not, it's fine. We don't care about that word because we are Hindus, and our nation is a Hindu nation. That is the truth. The caste system based on birth is not the hallmark of Hindutva," he added.

RSS has always argued that India is a "Hindu Nation," given the culture and majority's affiliations to Hinduism. However, 'secular' was not originally part of the Preamble of the Constitution, but it was added along with the word 'socialist' by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Bhagwat also urged people to visit the organisation's offices and 'shakhas' to understand its work, so that what he dubbed as the “false perception” of the organisation as anti-Muslim can be dispelled!

Bhagwat said that people have understood that the organisation advocates for the protection of Hindus, and are "staunch nationalists," but not anti-muslim.

"If there is a perception that we are anti-Muslim, then, as I said, the RSS work is transparent. You can come anytime and see for yourself, and if you see anything like that happening, then you keep your views, and if you don't see it, then you change your views. There is a lot to understand (about RSS), but if you don't want to understand, then no one can change your mind," Bhagwat said.

He said, but anyone unwilling to learn cannot be helped.

"After seeing, people have said that you are staunch nationalists. You organise Hindus, and you advocate for the protection of Hindus. But you are not anti-Muslim. Many people have accepted this, and those who want to know more should come and see the RSS for themselves," he said.

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