Arjun pitches high, confuses Congress

By Shyam Khosla

“Ban the RSS. Its biggest achievement is the murder of the Mahatma. Identify RSS men and its sympathisers and cleanse the administration of these fascists. The administration is in the grip of the Sangh. BJP is an illusion, RSS is the reality. We have to fight not only the RSS but its 100-odd fronts in all spheres of life??these are some of the war cries and misplaced apprehensions, blatant lies and empty threats from a frightened group of Congressmen and communists. Their utterances exposed them as what they are?a gang of Stalinists and fascists that are unsure of the durability of their fragile alliance because of internal contradictions and clash of political interests. They need a hate symbol to remain united and they have found it in RSS. HRD Minister Arjun Singh, I&B Minister Jaipal Reddy, CPI leader A.B. Bardhan and CPM leader Nilotpal Basu were prominent amongst those who ganged up against the Sangh at what was claimed to be a ?Convention on Secularism? but was in reality a platform to launch a campaign of calumny and slander against Hindu nationalists. They are frightened because of the influence, power and spread of the Sangh and would go to any length to manufacture and invent allegations against the nationalist forces.

Arjun Singh wants all RSS men and sympathisers to be removed from key positions on the premise that no government employee can take part in RSS activities. His assertions fly in the face of more than a dozen High Court judgements saying participa-tion in RSS activities is no reason to remove anyone from government service. Let the HRD Minister consult the Law Ministry on the subject. As for the sympathisers, since when has our democratic polity been reduced to a fascist State? Every citizen in a democratic set-up has a right to believe in any social philosophy and sympathy for any party or organisation. The right to form associations is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitu-tion. Government employees are no exception. If those having sympathy with the RSS are to be hounded out, what about the Congressmen, communist card-holders and crypto-communists Arjun Singh has appointed as chairmen of countless commit-tees he has set up as part of his time-tested policy of patronage? Arjun Singh, one hopes, is not dreaming of converting our multi-party democracy into a one-party socialist State under the influence of his communist friends.

HRD Minister'smost obnoxious allegation that the RSS assassinated the Mahatma is a blatant lie that has been nailed time and again by various judicial commissions set up by successive Congress govern-ments. This lie has outlived its utility and no one believes when petty-minded politicians, particularly the murderers of thousands of Sikhs in Delhi and other parts of the country in 1984, repeat it to malign the Sangh known for its robust nationalism and patriotism. The late Sita Ram Kesari rued the day he made the false allegation for which he was dragged to the courts. He lost nerves and rushed to RSS leaders to profusely apologise. Knowing the same fate awaits him, the crafty Minister is looking for an escape route. While challenging the Sangh to sue him for defamation, Arjun Singh maintains that all he said was ?philosophy of hate and violence by which the RSS swears, killed Mahatmaji?. So, it is not the RSS, but its ?philosophy? that killed the Mahatma. Arjun Singh roared like a lion but turned out to be a man with feet of clay.

Daring RSS to join politics is neither here nor there. The Sangh'sdecision not to participate in electoral politics is born out of its conviction and experience that though politics plays a significant role in the polity, it is not the only and the most effective instrument of social change. There is a vast space outside politics to serve the society. The RSS constitution gives its Swayamsevaks the liberty to join any political party excepting those that indulge in violence and anti-national activities. It is, therefore, natural that there is no Swayamsevak worth his salt in any Communist Party simply because Communist parties are short on nationalism and indulge in violence. But there are Swayamsevaks in almost all other parties, including the Congress. Even P.V. Narasimha Rao was an ex-Swayamsevak. The RSS founder, K.B. Hedgewar has been a staunch Congressman for decades. He founded the RSS after he was convinced that the Congress had gone astray and indulged in blatant appeasement of Muslims.

Those who are clamouring for a ban on the Sangh need to remember that the ban imposed by the Congress government in 1992 after the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya was declared null and void by the Review Commission set up under the law. The Sangh has done nothing to deserve a ban nor is there any provision in law to ban the patriotic organisation that is rendering service to the society on countless fronts. In case the fascist-Stalinist gang bulldozes the government into committing the most undemocratic and illegal act, they will do well to remember what the late Smt. Indira Gandhi told the Chandigarh Congress session during the hated Emergency on December 27, 1975:

?Even in places where the RSS was an unknown organisa-tion, it has established a firm foothold. After the ban, there has been no let up in its activities. They are now functioning in an organised underground manner? Even in a region like Kerala, the RSS has established a firm foothold.? (As reported in The Hindu, December 31, 1975).