Controversy
The Madhya Pradesh government's removing the
ban on RSS membership for its employees violates
the Constitution.
[Photo Caption: CHILDREN IN RSS uniform holding
swords before the start of Vijayadasami functions
on October 2. by A.M. Faruqui URL www.hinduonnet.com/fline/images/20061103001508601.jpg
]
ON August 27, 2006, the Bharatiya Janata Party-run
Government of Madhya Pradesh made an order revoking
the long established ban on civil servants'
participation in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh's
(RSS) activities. If this is allowed to pass
muster, there would be nothing to prevent a
government from inducting RSS men into the civil
services. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has
asked President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to intervene,
reminding him that his predecessor, President
K.R. Narayanan, had taken up the matter with
the BJP government at the Centre when, in January
2000, the BJP government of Gujarat made a similar
order. It was revoked.
The Madhya Pradesh case is far worse. It is
sought to be covered up with brazen falsehood.
As a matter of fact, the State government's
order "only formalised what it [the State
government] has been practising for close to
three years. RSS men have been appointed to
several key positions and all BJP leaders, including
Ministers, openly attend RSS functions"
(Milind Ghatwal in The Indian Express, September
15; emphasis added throughout). RSS leader Kantilal
Chhatar exclaimed, "What ban? There was
no restriction on taking part in RSS activities.
We never felt the ban. In any case, the RSS
inculcates cultural values."
Formally the ban was imposed in 1981 and was
revived in 2000. But similar laws have long
been in place in several States. Rule 5(1) of
the Madhya Pradesh Civil Service (Classification,
Control and Appeal) Rules of 1966 bars government
employees from becoming members of any political
party or organisation which takes part in political
activities. They are also barred from participating
in political agitations or fund-raising. The
order revoking this ban was made by Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chauhan on August 28, but became
known only on September 14. He issued a one-line
order, which simply said that the ban was not
applicable to the RSS. This alone suffices to
render his order unconstitutional, as being
violative of the constitutional guarantee of
equality before the law embodied in Article
14 of the Constitution. It is not open to a
government to make exceptions to a ban imposed
by law, arbitrarily at its whim; still less
for political reasons.[. . .]
Ever since Independence, governments at the
Centre and in the States banned members of certain
organisations from recruitment to their respective
services. Additionally, they forbade personnel
of the services from membership of those bodies.
The list was prepared by the Centre and revised
periodically; the last time, in 1986. Accordingly,
the Gujarat Civil Servants Conduct Rules, 1971,
forbade them to have any connection with the
RSS. Among the other 16 organisations on that
list were the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Hindu
Mahasabha, the Anand Marg, the All-India Muslim
Majlis-e-Mushwawarat, the Sati Pati Creed and
the Mass Movement (Madhok faction). The Madhya
Pradesh Rules were similar.
Sonia Gandhi has rightly sought the President's
intervention. However, it would be perfectly
open to the Opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh
or, for that matter, any citizen to ask the
Supreme Court to quash the Madhya Pradesh government's
order and have the mischief ended once and for
all.
FULL TEXT AT:
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20061103001508600.htm
