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Centre backtracks on Constitution review, RSS membership

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has beaten a hasty retreat from its immediate intentions of reviewing the Constitution and lifting the ban on government employees joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Both proposals have been put on hold following the protracted uproar in the Opposition and "rumbles" within some coalition partners of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

Senior home ministry officials told rediff.com that "a decision has been taken to put on hold various proposals, including the review of the Constitution and lifting the ban of central government employees joining the RSS".

The decision comes in the wake of widespread protests against the controversial proposals. President K R Narayanan's query to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee seeking clarifications on the government's proposal to lift the ban on central government employees joining the RSS further emboldened the Opposition, which accused the BJP of trying to saffronise institutions and the polity.

BJP sources confirmed that the government had put its plan to review the Constitution, for which it has already set up an 11-member commission headed by former supreme court chief justice M N Venkatachelliah, on hold.

"We have taken note of the sentiments of people who have misgivings on our intention to lift the ban on government employees joining the RSS," said a senior BJP vice-president. But he maintained that the government's resolve for a review of the Constitution is "very much there, but no time-frame can be fixed at the moment".

He contended that the NDA partners were "united" with the BJP, as evidenced by the seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar and other states having assembly polls this month.

But Samata Party politician Digvijay Singh said that while his party does not object to the BJP labelling the RSS a cultural organisation, there should be no needless controversy because the ruling coalition comprises 24 parties and conflicting signals should not go out to the people. "There should be no confusion that all the coalition partners endorse the BJP's stand on the RSS," he pointed out.

Trinamul Congress politicians indicated that their party "would put its foot down" if its support base is adversely affected by any decision taken by the BJP-led government. They emphasised that if the BJP leadership has postponed certain moves, it reveals that it has taken cognisance of the "popular upsurge of people's sentiments".

A Member of Parliament of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who spoke on condition of anonymity, underscored that party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's angry outburst on the issue of lifting the ban on joining the RSS forced Vajpayee to put the matter in cold storage. Later, the DMK chief made an impassioned plea to Vajpayee to dissuade the Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh governments from allowing their employees to join the RSS.

Karunanidhi spoke out because of the large number of Muslim voters in Tamil Nadu, for whom the RSS is anathema. According to the DMK MP, the Tamil Nadu chief minister threatened to pull his party out of the NDA if the BJP makes policy changes without consulting its partners.

Senior Congress politician Arjun Singh today spearheaded his party's attack on the BJP-RSS combine. In a four-page statement, he said the President is the custodian of the Constitution and he is fully within his rights to ask the prime minister to clarify his assertion that government employees can join the RSS.

Putting the RSS on the mat for questioning the President's role, Singh said the Sangh Parivar was hell-bent on achieving its communal ends by hook or crook and could not care less if the President was insulted and the people's democratic and secular rights were trampled upon.

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