Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday described the Centre’s order lifting the ban on the participation of government employees in RSS activities as a politically motivated decision aimed at appeasing the organization. She has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the order.
“The Centre’s decision to lift the 58-year-old ban on government employees from attending RSS shakhas is a politically motivated move to appease the RSS rather than serving the national interest. This is to ease the tensions that intensified between the two after the Lok Sabha elections over government policies and their arrogant attitudes,” Mayawati posted on X (Formerly Twitter)
Mayawati accused the RSS of engaging in political and electoral activities that favor a specific party. She emphasized that government employees must operate within the constitutional framework.
“However, the activities of the RSS, which have often been banned, are not only political but also electoral for a particular party. In such a situation, this decision is unfair and should be withdrawn immediately,” she added in the post.
The Congress said on Sunday that a recent government order lifted the ban on government employees participating in activities of the BJP’s ideological mentor, the RSS.
BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya stated that the government had indeed canceled the “unconstitutional” order.
Opposition Criticizes BJP Government
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticised it and called it “very strange”.
“It is strange. It was started by Sardar Patel. He had mentioned that the work of the government and the RSS are different. Narendra Modi government did not tinker with it for 10 years, why are they changing it now? What is the meaning of it? Does this mean that the government staff will work with different loyalty or what? There are people with RSS or against. The government has the responsibility to work for everyone. There might be political inclination, but cannot work like this. They are openly doing it. What has happened to impartiality. The rule was correct, it should remain like that. Government staff should be neutral and see everyone equally,” said Congress leader Shashi Tharoor while speaking to PTI outside Parliament on Monday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called the order “shameful”.
“Earlier ED, CBI, and IT were all doing khaki work wearing khaki shorts. Now they will be able to speak openly. It is shameful that today our bureaucrats who should work for Bharat Mata and the government should promote it, will now work keeping their ideology in mind, this is shameful,” she added.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the order was against India’s integrity and unity.
“This office memo purportedly shows that the government has lifted the ban on government employees participating in RSS activities. If true, this is against India’s integrity and unity. The ban on RSS exists because it refused to accept the constitution, the national flag and the national anthem,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, the RSS praised the BJP government’s decision, stating that the Congress government had wrongly banned government employees from taking part in their activities.
The Lifting of Ban
The Indian central government on July 9 lifted a decades-old ban on government employees participating in activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a decision that has erupted a significant political debate. This order, issued by the Ministry of Personnel, was confirmed by BJP leader Amit Malviya, who described the previous ban as “unconstitutional” and noted that it had been in place since 1966.
Why was the Ban Imposed?
The ban was originally imposed following a large anti-cow-slaughter protest in 1966, which was associated with the RSS and resulted in significant unrest. The lifting of the ban has led to criticism from opposition leaders, including Congress’s Jairam Ramesh and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi. Ramesh argued that the move politicizes government employees and undermines the integrity of the bureaucracy, while Owaisi claimed that no civil servant could remain loyal to the nation if they were involved with the RSS, which he accused of not accepting the Constitution and national symbols.
