PM Modi Allows Government Employees To Participate In RSS Activities, Reversing Ban Put By Indira Gandhi —Here's All About It

The Narendra Modi government has decided to allow government servants to participate in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities, reversing a prohibition established by previous administrations.

An order dated 30 November 1966, issued during the tenure of Congress leader and then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, banned government employees from participating in activities of both RSS and Jamat-e-Islami.

However, the current government has reviewed these orders and decided to "remove the mention" of RSS from the original directive. This decision has been met with criticism from Congress leaders.

Calling the previous order right, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that PM Modi changed this order to please the RSS as there was some "bitterness" in their relations since 4 June when Lok Sabha results were declared.

Taking a dig at the RSS uniform, he said, "I believe that the bureaucracy can now come in knickers." He added that RSS was banned after the killing of Mahatma Gandhi but even when the ban was lifted, it did not hoist the tricolour at its Nagpur headquarters.

On the other hand, the IT cell head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Malviya, praised the order calling the previous order "unconstitutional" which "shouldn’t have been passed in the first place."

"The ban was imposed because, on 7 November 1966, there was a massive anti-cow-slaughter protest at the Parliament. RSS-Jana Sangh mobilised support in lakhs. Many died in police firing," he posted on X.

"On 30 November 1966, shaken by the RSS-Jana Sangh clout, Indira Gandhi banned Government staff from joining the RSS," Malviya said sharing the order dated 9 July 2024.