Uttarakhand Govt Lifts Ban On Govt Employees' Participation In RSS Activities After MHA Order

The Uttarakhand government has lifted the ban on state employees participating in RSS activities, following a Union Government directive in July.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led Uttarakhand government has lifted the long-standing ban on state employees participating in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This move comes with a recent directive from the Union Government, permitting state government employees to engage in RSS's cultural and social activities, including the organisation's morning and evening shakhas (meetings).

The Union government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, had issued an order in July, ending the 58-year restriction that had prohibited government employees from taking part in RSS programs. The Uttarakhand government has now extended this relaxation to its state personnel. However, the order emphasises that participation in RSS activities must not interfere with official duties and should be done only outside of regular office hours.

BJP Welcomed MHA Order, Congress Opposed It

The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the MHA order in July, while the Congress slammed it.

Amit Malviya, the BJP's IT cell head, said, "The unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966, imposing a ban on government employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi government.” He added, "The original order shouldn’t have been passed in the first place."

On the contrary, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh highlighted in his X post, "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 Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour.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."

"In 1966, a ban was imposed - and rightly so - on government employees taking part in RSS activities. 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," he remarked.

It is notable that the original ban, issued on 30 November 1966, prohibited government servants from associating with the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. However, several state governments, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, had lifted such restrictions on government employees' association with the RSS. according to news agency IANS.