New Delhi: A day after Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar praised the RSS in the House, the Congress on Thursday alleged that the organisation has a long history of “corroding the sovereignty and integrity of India” and was an “anathema” to the country’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Vice President Dhankhar on Wednesday defended the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the House, saying it has “unimpeachable credentials” and is doing “national service”, as he took umbrage to remarks by a Samajwadi Party MP.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh in a post on X said that the man who would have been horrified by the “clean chits and certificates of appreciation” being awarded in recent days to the RSS would have been none other than the ‘Iron Man of India’ — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — himself.
Multiple documents from his tenure as the Home Minister reveal his profound horror at its “violent, anti-Constitutional and anti-national character”, Ramesh said.
“In a communique issued by the Union Home Ministry headed by Sardar Patel on February 4, 1948, the Central government said it was banning the RSS ‘to root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom of the Nation and darken her fair name. [T]he cult of violence sponsored and inspired by the activities of the Sangh has claimed many victims. The latest and the most precious to fall was Gandhiji himself’,” he said in a post on X.
“He (Patel) repeated the same sentiment in a letter written by him to Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on July 18, 1948: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that the extreme section of the Hindu Mahasabha was involved in the conspiracy [to kill Gandhi]. The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of Government and the State’,” Ramesh said.
Patel also wrote to M.S. Golwalkar in September 1948, explaining his decision to ban the RSS, the Congress leader pointed out.
“All their (the RSS’s) speeches were fill of communal poison. As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji’s death,” Patel was quoted by Ramesh as saying in the letter.
“The RSS has a long history of corroding the sovereignty and integrity of India. The RSS was anathema to Sardar Patel, like it is to any other Indian nationalist,” Ramesh alleged.
His remarks came a day after Dhankhar’s praise for the organisation in the House.
During the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Samajwadi Party’s Ramji Lal Suman said the RSS affiliation was the criterion for the government in selecting the head of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
At this point, Dhankhar had ordered that the comments will not go on record.
“I hereby rule that RSS is an organisation that has full constitutional rights to participate in the development journey of this nation. This organisation bears unimpeachable credentials, comprises of people who are deeply committed to serving the nation selflessly,” Dhankhar said.
“It is soothing to note, it is wholesome to note, that RSS as an organisation has been contributing for national welfare, our culture, and everyone should, as a matter of fact, take pride in any organisation which is acting in this manner,” he added.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge had defended Suman, saying if a member was speaking within the rules and not violating any rule, he or she should not be prevented from making his statement.
He went on to state that what Suman said was “correct” and what Dhankhar was doing was not right.
The chairman said Kharge has indicated that the chair can intervene when there is transgression of rules.
“I agree with that. The member wasn’t transgressing rules, he was trampling on the Constitution of India,” he said. “I will not permit a member to single out an organisation which is doing national service. This is a violation of the Constitution.”
He further said that Suman’s statement was a violation of Fundamental Rights and the Constitution.
“I declare that the member raised the issue which is not only against the rule (but also) against the Constitution of India,” he said.
“RSS has all right to contribute to the national growth, for national development. To take exception that a member of this organisation cannot participate in the development of the nation is not only unconstitutional but beyond the rules,” he said.
Dhankhar said the RSS is an organisation which is “a global think tank of the highest order”.
