Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday said the Centre’s decision to lift the 58-year-old ban on government employees attending Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas was against national interest.
Citing a purported official order issued last week, the Congress on Sunday claimed that the “ban" on government employees participating in RSS activities had been lifted.
Former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, on Monday questioned the Central government on this issue and said in a post on social media platform X, “The Centre’s decision to lift the 58-year-old ban on government employees going to RSS shakhas is a decision beyond the national interest and politically motivated to appease the Sangh so that the bitterness that intensified between the two after the Lok Sabha elections regarding government policies and their (BJP government’s) arrogant attitude etc. can be removed.”
The BSP chief said in a series of posts, “It is necessary for government employees to work in public interest and public welfare with impartiality while staying within the ambit of the Constitution and law, whereas the activities of the RSS, which has been banned many times, have not only been political but also electoral for a particular party.”
Mayawati termed this decision as unfair and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
Earlier on Sunday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared an office memorandum issued by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on July 9, which relates to the participation of government employees in RSS activities.
The said order stated, “The above instructions have been reviewed and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from the relevant office memorandum dated 30 November 1966, 25 July 1970 and 28 October 1980.”
In a post with a picture of the order, Ramesh said, “Sardar Patel had banned the RSS after Gandhi’s assassination in February 1948. After this, the ban was lifted on the assurance of good conduct. Even after this, the RSS never hoisted the tricolor in Nagpur.”
He said in the post, “In 1966, a ban was imposed on government employees participating in the activities of the RSS and it was also the right decision. This is the official order issued in 1966 to impose the ban.”
Ramesh said, “After June 4, 2024, the relationship between the self-proclaimed non-biological prime minister and the RSS has become bitter. On July 9, 2024, the 58-year ban was lifted, which was in place even during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as prime minister.”