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Explained: What was the RSS ban on govt servants; lifted after 58 years

Narendra Modi-led central government on July 9 passed an order lifting a ban imposed by then Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Patel, following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS
RSS
Vasudha Mukherjee New Delhi
3 min read Last Updated : Jul 22 2024 | 11:42 AM IST
The Congress party has claimed that the Narendra Modi-led central government issued an order earlier this month to lift the longstanding ban on government employees participating in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh made this allegation by posting an office memorandum purportedly issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions. The document pertains to the “participation of government servants in the activities of the RSS.”

Why were govt staff banned from RSS?

India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. This ban was subsequently lifted on “assurances of good behaviour,” Congress leader Ramesh said.
“Even after this, the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur,” Ramesh in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), sharing documents of the original ban.
 
However, a fresh ban was introduced in 1966, reaffirming the government’s stance against government servants participating in the activities of the RSS and the Jamaat-e-Islami under the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules.
 
In a speech, Sardar Patel said, “We in the government have been dealing with the RSS movement. They want Hindu Rajya or Hindu culture should be imposed by force. No government can tolerate this. There are almost as many Muslims in this country as in the part that has been partitioned away. We are not going to drive them away. It would be an evil day if we started that game, despite partition and whatever happens. We must understand that they are going to stay here and it is our obligation and our responsibility to make them feel that this is their country. It is, of course, their responsibility, on the other hand, to discharge their duties as citizens of this country.”
 
“We must both understand that partition is a thing of the past,” Patel had concluded.

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Congress attacks PM Modi for lifting of 58-year RSS ban

Ramesh attacked Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the ban, which had been in place even during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was removed on July 9.

Ramesh further criticised the current administration, remarking, ‘After June 4th, 2024, relations between the self-anointed non-biological PM and the RSS have nosedived. On July 9, 2024, the 58-year ban that was in force even during Vajpayee’s tenure as PM was removed. The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose,” alluding to the RSS’s former uniform of khaki shorts.

Congress leader Pawan Khera echoed Ramesh’s sentiments, posting on X, “58 years ago, the Central Government had imposed a ban on government employees taking part in the activities of the RSS. The Modi govt has withdrawn the order.”

BJP’s calls RSS ban ‘unconstitutional’

In response, Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT department, shared a screenshot of the order and welcomed the move. Malviya stated, “The unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966, imposing a ban on Govt employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi Govt.”
 
He added that the original order should not have been passed in the first place.
 

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Topics :Narendra ModiRSSJairam RameshCongressBS Web ReportsBJPExplained

First Published: Jul 22 2024 | 11:42 AM IST

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