RSS to chip in as Delhi CM Rekha Gupta braces for first budget

As Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta prepares to present her first budget on March 25, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will lend a helping hand to the state BJP that has returned to power in the national capital after a gap of 27 years.

Since Gupta is a first time MLA, the BJP along with RSS, its ideological parent, has decided not to take any chances and try to guide her and her team in matters of policy and politics.

While the state government is preparing to present its first budget and present its vision for Delhi, the BJP and RSS have formed an informal team of five leaders who will help the chief minister take policy decisions.

Also read: Behind Rekha Gupta’s rise is an RSS hand; it even arranged her marriage

‘Inexperienced’ Delhi leadership

“The biggest challenge for the BJP in Delhi is that most people in the ministry have not been part of a government and have little experience vis-a-vis policy matters. The five-member committee is an informal group that will help the chief minister in the affairs of the party and guide her in policy decisions,” a senior BJP leader told The Federal.

The committee will also act as the eyes and ears of Gupta in dealing with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress.

“The chief minister will also get help from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to deal with the administrative issues,” the leader added.

BL Santhosh to lead group

The five-member team is headed by BL Santhosh, an influential BJP general secretary, and also includes Dayanand, the RSS head in Delhi, and Pavan Rana, a general secretary in the Delhi wing of the party. The three are RSS pracharaks or full-time members.

The other two members are Virendra Sachdeva, the BJP president in Delhi, and Gupta herself.

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Another BJP leader underlined that Gupta was also part of the Sangh Parivar. “Out of the six ministers in Delhi, most are part of the Sangh family,” he added.

Sangh Parivar ‘toli’

The formation of the coordination team or ‘toli’ as it is called in the RSS is an old concept.

Just as there is help for the Delhi chief minister, similarly, senior leaders of the BJP and RSS provide help to Mohan Yadav and Bhajan Lal Sharma, the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively.

The common link between Gupta, Yadav and Sharma is that they have become chief minister for the first time.

‘Modi also gets help’

“The formation of teams in the Sangh Parivar is being practiced for decades and is used in governance as the BJP is in power. The teams are called ‘toli’ in Sangh Parivar. It is a group of four-five individuals who work as guides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also has several teams who assist him in policy formulation and national affairs,” Dilip Deodhar, a Nagpur-based author and observer on RSS, told The Federal.

Also read: AAP left coffers empty but women to get Rs 2,500 as promised: Delhi CM

With less than a fortnight left for Gupta to present the first budget for Delhi, the government’s priorities are clear.

While the new government is giving priority to issues related to women and has set aside Rs.5,100 crores for Mahila Samridhi Yojana that provides Rs.2,500 to select women a month, the road ahead may not be easy.

Modi govt to help

Gupta has met Home Minister Amit Shah to try and reduce incidents of crime against women in Delhi. The Union Home Ministry controls the Delhi Police.

Even though the Delhi government has announced it will clean the Yamuna in three years and also improve the air quality in Delhi in a few years, the government hopes to achieve the targets by getting help from the Union government.

Also read: Delhi Cabinet nod to Rs 2,500 monthly aid for women; panel formed to implement scheme

“While the state government will allocate funds for these initiatives in the budget, we expect additional funds from the Union government,” a BJP spokesman, Atul Gupta, told The Federal.