Government Employees Can Now Join RSS As Centre Lifts Ban, Congress Slams Move

The Centre recently lifted a longstanding ban on government employees participating in activities associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Reacting to this, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X and shared an order from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) dated July 9, which indicated the end of the restriction that had been in place since 1966.

The RSS was initially banned in 1948 after Nathuram Godse, a member of the organisation, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

Ramesh stated, "Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 following Gandhi ji's assassination. Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. Even after this the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur."

A new ban was instituted in 1966, reported India Today.

The order from that year clarified, "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 the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules."

Ramesh slammed the decision to lift the ban and questioned its timing, saying, "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."

He also commented, "The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose," referring to the traditional RSS uniform of khaki shorts, which was changed to brown trousers in 2016.

Amit Malviya, head of the BJP's IT department, also posted the order and praised the decision, stating, "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in 1966, imposing a ban on Govt employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi Govt."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 argued that the original ban should never have been implemented.