Kolkata | RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that it will take time to resolve differences among warring groups in ethnic strife-torn Manipur, asserting that peace will ultimately prevail in the northeastern state.

Bhagwat, who recently visited Manipur, said he had held talks with all tribal and social leaders as well as youth representatives in the northeastern state.

He said that the disturbances, which are mainly law and order problems, are abating slowly and will end within about a year.

"But bridging the minds is a great task and it will take time," he said, asserting that the only way is to have dialogue and bring the warring groups to "one page".

"That can be done, because basically the spirit is already there," the RSS chief said at a programme held here to celebrate the centenary of the Sangh.

"We could do it in Arunachal, Meghalaya, we are doing it in Nagaland and other places," he said.

Bhagwat said that the RSS has around 100 shakhas in Manipur.

Maintaining that peace will ultimately prevail in Manipur, he said, "But definitely it will take time."

Asked by one of the participants in the lecture and interaction programme as to why the Sangh is maintaining a distance with the top BJP leadership, the RSS chief said that the Sangh has always maintained a distance with the saffron party.

"We stay very distant from all BJP leaders," he said, hastening to add, "We have always been close to Narendra bhai (PM Modi), Amit bhai (Union Home Minister Shah)."

Both the leaders are known to be close to the Sangh and PM Modi was earlier a pracharak of the organisation.

He said such narratives over relations between the RSS and the BJP leadership are not to be taken into account, maintaining that the Sangh is a clean organisation and it does not hide its relations with anyone, be it of any political outfit.