Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said everyone — society, the government and the administration — had become inattentive after the first wave of COVID-19.
Dr. Bhagwat was speaking during the online lecture series organised by RSS Delhi’s COVID-19 response team titled “Positivity Unlimited”, at a time the country is grappling with the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
The RSS chief said he had been asked to speak about positivity, which was a tough ask as times were tough and many families had lost their loved ones, including sole breadwinners. He said while nothing could be done about those already lost, those surviving were left to deal with the circumstances.
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“We don’t need negationism, to say that nothing happened and everything is fine…We have to keep our minds positive, the bodies corona-negative,” he said.
He said though times were tough, there was still hope. “It is time to fight,” he said.
“After the first wave, we all became inattentive, whether the public, the government or administration. We knew, doctors were giving signals. But we all became inattentive. Now, they are talking of a third wave. Do we have to be scared? No, we don’t have to be scared,” he said, adding that there was a need to prepare for the next wave.
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He said now was the time for everyone to work as a ‘team’ and that the time for assigning blame would come later. Citing the example of stakeholders in Pune coming together, he said the same should be replicated all over. “Doesn’t matter if you woke up late,” he said, adding that the efforts should be sped up now.
The RSS chief also cautioned people against believing anything without verification and suggested they keep themselves busy during the time by spending time with their families.
He said the situation was very difficult for daily wage earners so people should support them as much as possible. He said the talk of future economic decline and unemployment was not to “create panic”, but as a warning to prepare.
“Keep in mind the quote ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal. The courage to continue is the only thing that matters’.” he said.