MHA withdraws ban on Govt employees participating in RSS activities

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday displayed an official order on its website’s home page, announcing the withdrawal of the ban on government employees participating in activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This ban had been in place since 1966.

Earlier in July, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order lifting the ban, which had prohibited government employees from engaging in RSS activities for nearly six decades.

Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT head, commented on the order’s withdrawal on X (formerly Twitter), 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in 1966, imposing a ban on Govt employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi Govt.”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 further added, “The original order shouldn’t have been passed in the first place.”

Conversely, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared his views on X, referencing historical context: “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 Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour.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.”

The original 1966 order prohibited government servants from associating with both the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. However, various state governments, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, had already lifted restrictions on government employees engaging with the RSS.