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Swarajya Staff
Nov 12, 2018, 10:33 AM | Updated 10:33 AM IST
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The Congress has ‘promised’ to ban RSS shakhas in government premises and not allow State employees to participate in sangh shakhas if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh. Congress has been out of power for 15 years and has released its manifesto for the upcoming State elections.
Congress mentions in the Administrative Reforms section of its manifesto that, "RSS shakhas will not be allowed in government premises and the government order allowing government officials and employees to attend the shakhas too will be scrapped”.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra censured the Congress over the issue, saying, "This has once again exposed Congress' real political objective of neither allowing the construction of temple nor allowing the running of shakhas. Sangh is not a political organisation, but a purely social and cultural organisation whose humanitarian works are for all to see everywhere, including the relief work done by RSS workers during the recent flood in Kerala."
The Congress’ stand was repeated by their three leaders, ex-Finance and Home Minister P Chidambaram, ex-CM Digvijaya Singh and national party spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Patra also accused the Congress of playing hypocrite, when its Chhattisgarh leaders said that Naxalism was a ‘revolutionary process’ and on the other hand, treated RSS not even as a social organization, but as a hated outfit. He added that in 2008, the US Ambassador had been told by Rahul Gandhi that the national security threat was by Hindu outfits and not banned radical outfits like like Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Apart from this, Gandhi also bracketed RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned terror outfit in six countries.
Patra outlined the communal agenda of the Congress by pointing out how Digvijaya Singh supported controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik as an “apostle of peace” and then linking the RSS to the 26/11 attacks. Patra said the Congress manifesto was an extension of the above events.
He also questioned the stand of the Congress on Deepak Babaria, who recently said that the Congress should learn discipline from the RSS.
Justifying the ‘promise’, the Congress national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi, said: "Nowhere in our manifesto have we said that the RSS will be banned, we've only mentioned about not allowing RSS shakhas in government premises and not allowing government servants in such shakhas. Our point is that a government employee is committed to the country's constitution and not to a particular political thought or organisation."