Ban on Govt staff joining RSS goes
THE STATE Government has revoked the previous Congress Government?s order that prevented government employees from taking part in RSS shakhas and its activities.
THE STATE Government has revoked the previous Congress Government’s order that prevented government employees from taking part in RSS shakhas and its activities.
By lifting the ban Shivraj Singh Chouhan has proved himself a true RSS disciple and has beaten all his party colleagues who have been chief ministers before him. Chouhan has apparently done this in a bid to impress the RSS bosses like his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi.
Shivraj’s Government recently issued the order saying there was no ban on State employees joining RSS activities. “As far as sub rule 1 of rule 5 of the Madhya Pradesh Civic Services (Conduct) Rules 1965 is concerned, it is not applicable on RSS,” the order said. The order has already been circulated to all government departments, HoD offices, commissioners, collectors and CEOs of district panchayat.
Digvijay Singh had imposed the ban during his tenure and had also made it very clear that employees and officers having links with the RSS would not be allowed to continue in government service. Due to his style of functioning and some decisions taken by him against RSS and its associates, Digvijay had also became the most hated politician for the RSS.
Digvijay Government issued the ban orders in May 2000. In a subsequent order issued in April 2003, his government warned the employees that strict action like termination from services would be taken against employees with links to RSS. According to Congress theory, RSS was not merely a cultural organisation as being claimed, but a political entity since its members only supported the BJP or functioned as BJP leaders.
Interestingly, senior government officers who had ensured during Digvijay Singh’s regime that employees could not participate in RSS activities now categorically deny that the RSS was a political organisation.
“It is a cultural and social organisation and I do not think objections should be raised to anybody joining it,” said a senior bureaucrat.
The crux of the controversy lies in the fact that the MP Civil Services (Conduct) Rules specifically prohibit government servants from joining any political party or organisation that participates in political activity and subscribes or assists in any manner any political movement or activity.
The RSS admittedly has not only close links with the BJP - it is the party’s parent organisation - it also actively subscribes to and its members participate in political movements spearheaded by the BJP or other RSS fronts. But, the RSS and BJP have steadfastly maintained that the Sangh was only a ‘cultural organisation’.
Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi has criticised the government for lifting the ban and said the decision had ‘exposed its real face’.
The decision would create a ‘wall’ between employees of the State and it ran counter to the Constitution, she said. Talking to the Hindustan Times, the veteran Congress leader said several commissions had raised doubts over the role of the RSS and the Sangh Parivar in different states and asked, “How can they impose their agenda on the people?”