The Congress’s poll promise to prohibit government employees from taking part in activities of the RSS and also disallow activities of RSS shakhas on government premises has triggered a war of words between the Opposition party and the ruling BJP. More than 12 years ago, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government had allowed state government employees to attend RSS shakhas, arguing that the Sangh was a socio-cultural organisation and not a political entity. In its manifesto released on Saturday, the Congress has said it will end this relaxation enjoyed by government employees in Madhya Pradesh if it comes to power. Soon after, the BJP held two separate press conferences in an hour to slam the Opposition party, accusing it of being “anti-national”. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress’s only motto these days seems to be, “Mandir nahi banane denge, shakha nahi chalne denge (Won’t let the temple to be built, won’t let (RSS) shakhas to be held)”. Patra said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had compared RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood when he was abroad. He also recalled various “anti-RSS” statements made by senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh, including his alleged insinuation that RSS was behind the 26/11 Mumbai attack. While the Congress manifesto does not talk about banning the organisation, the BJP claimed that the Opposition party had “ban” on its mind. BJP leaders said the Congress had shot itself in the foot with this promise and that the ruling party will benefit from the “polarisation”. Congress manifesto committee chairman Rajendra Singh said the proposed restriction was justified because the RSS is “more than a semi-political organisation”. “RSS loans its members to the BJP who go on to occupy the post of general secretary from national level to the district level. The general secretary’s word is taken more seriously by the government than that of a chief minister. How can an organisation whose members occupy important positions in boards and corporations be apolitical,’’ said Singh. He added that the proposal does not talk about “banning the RSS” but only about prohibiting government employees from attending shakhas and disallowing shakhas on government premises. Singh, who is Deputy Speaker in the Assembly, said he does not remember if such a promise featured in the party’s previous manifestos. State BJP chief Rakesh Singh dared the Congress to “ban the RSS” and said the Congress has no qualms about standing shoulder-to-shoulder with “anti-national elements like the tukde tukde gang in JNU’’. Patra said three previous attempts to “ban the RSS” had come a cropper and the respective Congress governments were forced to revoke any such order. A restriction on participating in RSS shakhas was first imposed by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh in 1981 and revived in 2000 when Digvijaya Singh was chief minister. The order warned employees of disciplinary action under MP Civil Service (classification, control and appeal) Rules of 1966 if they were found attending RSS shakhas or the organisation’s other activities. Despite the order, the Congress government had not punished a single government employee during its tenure till it lost power to the BJP in 2003. In September 2006, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lifted the restriction, saying the RSS is a “socio-cultural organisation and not a political entity”. Justifying the decision, Chouhan said, “The ban was imposed out of prejudice.” Section 5 (1) of MP Civil Services (Conduct) Rules prevents employees from becoming a member of any political party or organisation which takes part in political activities. They are also not allowed to take part in political agitations or raise funds for such agitations. While Chouhan did not immediately react to the Congress’s promise on Sunday, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said while the BJP wants employees and officers to stand in queues leading to RSS shakhas, the Congress wants them to sit in office and finish official work to ease people’s problems. Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said RSS activists were more powerful than elected representatives. Congress leader Bhupendra Gupta alleged that students in tribal areas were often asked to vacate hostels when RSS events are organised there. He alleged that RSS camps last for up to a fortnight and government teachers are made to serve food. “When hundreds of thousands of rupees are spent on salaries of government employees, should they not be doing official work?’’ he asked.
