A Central government order removing the RSS from the category of political organisations has triggered a row as Central government employees can now participate in the Sangh’s activities. The Opposition has criticised the move as an attempt to politicise “government offices and employees” and alleged that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) order dated July 9 was passed so that the BJP could repair its ties with the Sangh that have come under strain in recent months. At least a couple of BJP-ruled states had removed these restrictions years earlier, while other states still have the curbs in place. Madhya Pradesh The Congress first imposed restrictions on government employees participating in RSS shakhas in 1981 and it was revived in 2000 when Digvijaya Singh was the Chief Minister. The order warned employees of disciplinary action under the MP Civil Service (classification, control and appeal) Rules of 1966 if they were found attending RSS shakhas or the organisation’s activities. In September 2006, then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan lifted the restriction saying the RSS was a “socio-cultural organisation and not a political entity”. Justifying the decision, Chouhan said, “The ban was imposed out of prejudice. The BJP and the Congress were embroiled in a war of words in June 2023 after a picture surfaced showing Satna district collector Anurag Verma and Municipal Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Shahi participating in a prayer at an RSS event. Haryana The Haryana government in October 2021 scrapped the rule restricting state government employees from joining or being associated with the RSS and the Jamaat-e-Islami. Explaining the rationale behind scrapping the rule, a senior Haryana government official told The Indian Express at the time that the new Conduct Rules in 2016 superseded all executive instructions issued earlier. “As such RSS or Jamaat-e-Islami are not political organisations listed with the Election Commission of India. RSS is rather a cultural organisation. Thus, the Haryana government has now just reiterated the MHA’s instructions. No government employee is barred from being associated with these organisations,” said the official. Assam Section 18 of the Assam Civil Service Rules 1965 states, "No government servant shall be a member of, or be otherwise associated with, any political party or any organization which takes part in politics not shall he take part in, subscribe in aid or, assist in any other manner, any political movement or activity.” A senior official of the state government’s personnel department said this was understood to extend to groups such as the RSS as well “though it is not specified”. The official said because there had been no complaints in this matter, “it has not been taken up and there is no precedent on this question”. Rajasthan Under Section 7 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1971, government employees are prohibited from participating in politics, being a member of a political party, and getting involved in any political activity. In 1972, the Rajasthan government clarified that the RSS and the Jamaat-e-Islami too fall under this bracket. In 1981, the government issued an additional list of 17 prohibited organisations for government employees. In 2021, responding to an Assembly query, the state government further clarified that not only were government employees prohibited from participating in the activities of these organisations but that posting on social media in favour of the RSS or the Jamaat could draw action under Conduct Rules of 1971, and the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1958. Gujarat In the mid-1990s, during the tenure of late Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, the Gujarat government lifted the ban on government employees from participating in RSS activities. “The lifting of the ban did not last for more than 15-20 days. The issue emanated from the Conduct Rules that list RSS along with the VHP as banned organisations,” said a retired IAS officer who did not wish to be named. Government insiders said senior BJP leaders L K Advani and M Venkaiah Naidu during the visit to Gujarat decided to ask the government to withdraw the “lifting of the ban to avoid sending a wrong message” to the coalition partners in the NDA government at the Centre at the time. Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir government employees are barred from having association with the activities of RSS as the Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1971, describe the RSS, among various other organisations, as “anti-secular” and “communal”. Among the other organisations mentioned in the list are Jamaat-e-Islami, Islamic Study Circle, Anand Marg, Proutist Forum of India, and Proutist League. According to Sub Rule 4 of Rule 14 of the Conduct Rules, “any association or participation in their activities directly or indirectly by any Government employee shall attract the provisions of these rules”. It adds, “Any Government employee who is found to be a member of or is otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisations or with their activities is liable to disciplinary action.” A senior government official told The Indian Express that given the Union government’s July 9 order, the RSS has to be removed from the list. Maharashtra The Maharashtra government still bars government employees from attending RSS activities but in 2015 it allowed the RSS-affiliated Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini to conduct training sessions for government employees.
