RSS warns affiliates not to obstruct NDA's reform push

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale, warned affiliate organisations on Monday not to obstruct the Narendra Modi-led government's push on economic reforms, comments that underscore the Sangh’s active role in setting the economic agenda.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale, warned affiliate organisations on Monday not to obstruct the Narendra Modi-led government's push on economic reforms, comments that underscore the Sangh’s active role in setting the economic agenda.

Hosabale told a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh gathering that the RSS had sent a 72-point to-do list to central ministries for immediate action as he tried to douse the controversy fanned by recent opposition by RSS-backed organisations to the government's reform moves.

“The first major change witnessed after the BJP government came to power was that the nation was freed from the clutches of political middlemen,” he said.

Striking a conciliatory note, he said the government was on the right track and its efforts must be complemented with responsive cooperation rather than selective confrontation.

He said there was no reason to be disillusioned as the government was transforming the nation for the better.

He told the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh not to resort to confrontation as other trade unions did.

Hosabale told the labour union that 43 of the 72 items on its list were likely to be resolved easily even as he praised the government on a host of reform measures such as the new land Bill, tweaks in labour laws, and higher foreign direct investment in the defence, banking, retail and insurance sectors.

At a three-day RSS meet in March, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh had expressed displeasure over the government's labour law reforms and economic policies.

On May 26, the day the Modi government completes a year in office, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh plans to jointly announce with other trade union organisations a nationwide agitation against the government’s alleged attempts to curb unionism and amend labour laws to make sacking of workers easier.

The timing of Hosabale’s comments is significant as top BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Manohar Parrikar, are in Nagpur to discuss the government's one-year performance with RSS top brass led by Mohan Bhagwat.