RSS ban on govt staff lifted: Why was it clamped? Why is Opposition upset?

On July 9, the Ministry of Personnel issued an order lifting a decades-old ban on government employees participating in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

While the BJP-led Centre has justified the order, claiming that the one passed banning it in 1966 was “unconstitutional”, the Opposition has slammed the move, asking what had changed in the RSS since then, which had brought about the ban in the first place.

So, what had prompted the then government 58 years ago to ban the RSS?

History of ban on RSS in government service

It was in 1948 that the Sangh was declared an unlawful organisation after Nathuram Godse, an RSS member, assassinated MK Gandhi. None other than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then Home Minister, clamped the ban on the RSS in February 1948 following the assassination.

The ban was subsequently withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. However, in 1966, a fresh ban was clamped on the RSS — along with the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The office memorandum issue in November 1966 read: “As certain doubts have been raised about the government’s policy with respect to the membership of and participation in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Jamaat-e-Islami by government servants, it is clarified that government have always held the activities of these two organisations to be of such a nature that participation in them by government servants would attract provisions of sub-rule (1) of Rule 5 of Central Civil Service Conduct Rule 1960.”

The memorandum further stated, “Any government servant who is a member of or is otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisation or with their activities is liable for disciplinary action.”

In 1975, during Indira Gandhi’s tenure, the order was expanded to include a ban on promoting or attending RSS meetings as well. In a 1975 notification, the government stated that violations of this order could lead to up to seven years in jail, a fine, or both.

As recently as in 2018, the ban was briefly lifted, when the Government Employees National Confederation, affiliated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to follow the example of Gujarat, where the Keshubhai Patel-led BJP government lifted the ban in 2000.

What BJP claims

According to Amit Malviya, in charge of BJP’s National Information and Technology Department, the “unconstitutional” ban was initially imposed in response to a massive protest at the Parliament against anti-cow-slaughter on November 7, 1966, which was supported by the RSS and Jana Sangh.

The “RSS-Jana Sangh mobilised support in lakhs. Many died in police firing,” he posted on X, claiming that “shaken by the RSS-Jana Sangh clout”, Indira Gandhi on November 30, 1966, banned government staff from joining the RSS.

He also claimed that Indira Gandhi “reached out to the RSS” in February 1977, offering to lift the ban if they supported her in the election.

Opposition reacts

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, shared copies of both the orders on X and said this was the BJP’s way to appease its ideological parent organisation with which its relationship has been stressed of late.

“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 Mr Vajpayee’s tenure as PM was removed. The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose,” Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.

“The bureaucracy can now come in shorts too I suppose,” he took a dig, alluding to the RSS’s original uniform of khaki shorts, replaced by brown trousers in 2016.

Ramesh also pointed out that even BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had not removed the ban during his regime as the prime minister.

Congress leader Pawan Khera, speaking to a media house, wondered what had changed with the RSS that would warrant the lifting of the ban.

“Has RSS become any less political?” he said, agreeing with Ramesh that the “timing” was quite suspect given the growing bitterness between the RSS and the BJP.

AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi, too, hit back at the BJP, saying that the order goes “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. Every RSS member takes an oath that puts Hindutva above the nation. No civil servant can be loyal to the nation if he is a member of RSS,” Owaisi posted on X.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) also argued that the order would allow government officials to openly demonstrate their allegiance to the RSS ideology.

“With this order ED, IT, CBI, ECI and other sarkari officers can officially prove their Sanghi credentials. Such a shame, instead of aligning only to Bharat Mata’s interests, BJP is leading them towards keeping ideological interests first,” party leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on X.

RSS welcomes move

The RSS, expectedly, welcomed the move, calling the original ban as “politically driven”.

“Due to its political interests, the then (1966) government had baselessly banned government employees from participating in the activities of a constructive organisation like the Sangh. The present decision of the government is appropriate and is going to strengthen the democratic system of India,” Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bhartiya Prachar Pramukh, RSS, said in a statement on Monday.

Ambekar also pointed out that the RSS has been “continuously engaged in the reconstruction of the nation and service to the society for the past 99 years”.

“From time to time, different types of leadership of the country have praised the role of the Sangh due to its contribution in national security, unity and integrity and taking the society along in times of natural disasters,” he added.

No Service Rule violation: Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal welcomed the Centre’s decision to lift the ban, saying that it did not violate the Service Rule in any way. He told reporters that the ban was imposed by the Congress government because of political reasons.

“The Congress’s attitude has been anti-nationalist and anti-patriotic. There is no place in India for such an ideology. The RSS is a patriotic and cultural body whose every worker is full of a sense of patriotism. If any person becomes a part of that organisation, they should be welcomed,” he told reporters.

He further added that the Opposition has “different parameters for a particular community” and their attitude towards the Hindu community is “very negative”. “The RSS and each of its workers cares for the nation with complete devotion and we welcome anyone who becomes a part of such an organisation,” he claimed.