RSS welcomes WTO draft agreement

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to form an opinion on the framework World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement reached after much debate in Geneva, the Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) here on Wednesday described it "good for the country".

Welcoming the draft agreement, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said it was good for the country.

"The farm sector will be protected and this is good for India," he said.

Former Union Commerce Minster Arun Jaitley, who also led the Indian delegation to the previous WTO talks at Cancun in Mexico, had yesterday termed the framework agreement "disturbing".

"My first reading of the draft has disturbed me, both on content as also on India's negotiating strategy," Jaitley said.

Jaitley, according to the report, was concerned as the agreement left little bargaining options in the tariff negotiations for developing countries like India.

On the media reports that the RSS was "transforming with time" and would discard khaki shorts for trousers, said Madhav said wearing half-pants was a matter of convenience for the RSS cadres and there was no historical importance attached to it.

"The issue did not figure during the recently concluded meeting of "prant pracharaks" in Raipur. I do not know from where the media gets its information. There was even a lead editorial in a national daily on this topic. It was enlightening," Madhav remarked.

He said there were several major issues before the organisation and "wearing or not wearing half-pants was certainly not one of them". Madhav said the RSS was not averse to donning trousers, but half-pants were convenient and would continue to be the RSS uniform.

On the marriage of pracharaks, he said no such topic was taken up at the meeting. "There has never been any demand on this subject. Not a single full-time pracharak has ever said that he wanted to end his celibacy and yet work in the same capacity," Madhav said.

Several pracharaks had entered the grihasth ashram (family life) after completing their duty, he said.

"There is no ban on marriage in the RSS. This is something the media has conjured up," Madhav remarked.