A district collector in Madhya Pradesh, who has come under sharp criticism from the opposition Congress for attending an RSS event, has told The Indian Express he sees nothing wrong in it.
“There is nothing wrong in attending the event. It was a public event attended by thousands of people. There is no ban on public officials attending such an event. Several senior dignitaries attended it. Elections are coming in the state and a controversy has erupted because of that,” Satna district collector Anurag Verma said.
Both the opposition Congress and ruling BJP in the state have been embroiled in a war of words ever since a picture surfaced showing Verma and Satna Municipal Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Shahi participating in a prayer during an RSS event on June 11. Asked about the photo showing him doing the RSS salute, Verma said, “I am a Hindu. When I go to the temple, I bow to the gods. If I go to a mosque or a church, I follow their rituals.”
Shahi, the second government official, did not respond to calls from the media and messages seeking a comment. The Congress has demanded that such officials be kept away from preparations of the MP Assembly polls scheduled for year-end, while the BJP has said this shows the Congress’s “hatred” for the RSS. The Congress has also stated they will make a complaint to the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training.
It was the Madhya Pradesh State Congress media department chairman K K Mishra, who tweeted the picture of the two officials, said, “This behaviour is not expected from civil servants. It can’t be expected that such officials will perform their duty without bias in the assembly polls.” Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha demanded that the Election Commission of India keep such leaders away from poll preparation.
In response, BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said, “There is no ban on civil servants participating in RSS events. There is nothing illegal in doing that. The RSS is a cultural organisation, it works for the society. The RSS works under constitutional arrangements, it’s a democratic, social and cultural organisation.”
In 2018, the Congress had in its election manifesto promised to prohibit government employees from taking part in activities of the RSS and to disallow activities of RSS shakhas on government premises. A restriction on participating in RSS shakhas was first imposed by the Congress in Madhya Pradesh way back in 1981 and revived in 2000 when Digvijaya Singh was chief minister. The order warned employees of disciplinary action under MP Civil Service (classification, control and appeal) Rules of 1966 if they were found attending RSS shakhas or the organisation’s activities.
In September 2006, when he first claimed power, Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan lifted the restriction, saying the RSS is a “socio-cultural organisation and not a political entity”. Justifying the decision, Chouhan had said, “The ban was imposed out of prejudice.”
Section 5 (1) of MP Civil Services (Conduct) Rules prevents employees from becoming a member of a political party or organisation which takes part in political activities. They are not allowed to take part in political agitations or raise funds for such agitations.
Gujarat 2000
In year 2000, unsurpisingly, it was the Keshubhai Patel-led Gujarat government that had lifted the ban on public/government servants who belonged to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. At the time, in the February 2000 issue of Communalism Combat, eminent jurist, Atul Motilal Setalvad had written,
“Government servants in India cannot be allowed to belong to a political party committed to values that are the very opposite of parliamentary democracy and secularism
“The recent decision of the government of Gujarat to lift the long–standing ban on government servants being members of the RSS has aroused much controversy. Many, already distressed by the policies of the state government of encouraging extremist Hindu parties, have seen it as yet another instance of a fanatical fascist group using its power to destroy the secular basis of our country. Others see nothing wrong in the decision; why not let civil servants belong to a party, they say, particularly as several ministers belong to, or are sympathetic to that very party?
“A dispassionate discussion of this issue is called for. The issues involve a consideration of our Constitution, and the basic underlying principles of our parliamentary democracy.
“Our Constitution declares that India is to be a secular republic. The Supreme Court has held that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution which cannot be amended. What secularism means has been the discussed by the Supreme Court in the famous Bommai Case, when a large bench of the Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of several BJP–controlled state governments after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Some observations in the judgements delivered in that case deserve to be quoted:
“Under our Constitution … religion cannot be mixed with any secular activities of the state. In fact, the encroachment of religion into secular activities is strictly prohibited.”
“In matters of State, religion has no place.”
“The Constitution does not recognise, does not permit, mixing religion and state power. Both must be kept apart.”
“The Constitution contains fundamental rights which include the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom of association. These rights are not absolute, and can be curtailed in appropriate cases in the interests of public order or the integrity of India. The Constitution also contains Article 25 which confers on all citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate the religion of their choice, and it is settled law that whilst conversions from one religion to another by threats or inducement can be prohibited, voluntary conversions cannot be restricted….
…..
“The position in England is instructive. Civil servants generally cannot belong to organisations which are committed to overthrow or undermine parliamentary democracy. Even as far as ordinary and democratic parties are concerned, a civil servant cannot publicly support any political party or its policies.
“As we also are a parliamentary democracy, the principles followed in England are instructive. We also have to constantly bear in mind the basic principles of our Constitution and the fundamental duties imposed on all citizens. Obviously, government servants must discharge the same duties, and the obligation on them to do so is greater, as they occupy a pivotal position in the State.
“For any state government to allow government servants to belong to the RSS or, indeed, to any communal or secessionist organisation, would be wrong. The ban has been in force for many years. For a government run by the BJP, which has close links with the RSS, to revoke the ban is doubly wrong. It is favouring its own party, and jeopardising the impartiality and independence of the civil service. It is sending a message to the whole State, and in particular, to the citizens belonging to the minorities, that the whole State government will be run as the RSS wants.”
Haryana lifted the ban in 2021.
Related:
Haryana lifts decades old ban, allows gov’t employees to join RSS, Jamaat-e-Islami