For all the hype about the clout of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological patron stands humbled before the Narendra Modi government.
Significant labour reforms introduced by the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh last week drew a familiar whimper of a protest from the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the labour wing of the RSS. The Sangh can’t allow “jungle raj” and put labourers “into the hands of corporates,” BMS president Saji Narayanan said.
The BJP governments in Lucknow, Bhopal, as well as the Centre weren’t losing their sleep. Two days after the BMS’ protest, the Vijay Rupani-led government in Gujarat also announced exemption for new industries from labour laws for 1,200 days. The BJP government in Goa followed suit, relaxing provisions of the Factories Act and extended working hours. The Sangh must live with this snub, knowing that such bold reforms in these BJP-ruled states couldn’t have been carried out without the support from New Delhi.
The RSS can’t but clap and clang thalis in praise of its former pracharak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has outgrown the Sangh. Shortly after the 2014 Lok Sabha election win, Modi had declared in an interview to a British author that people had voted for him, and not for the party (or, for that matter, the RSS). So much for the Sangh’s reservations against personality cults.
In Modi’s second term, the informal RSS-BJP coordination mechanism exists but only in name. Leaders haven’t met even once to discuss the coronavirus crisis. As a Sangh functionary put it, even the Communist Party of China (CPC) gets more contrarian views from within than what the Modi government is getting from the RSS or the BJP now.
The RSS’ Vajpayee-era swagger is gone. It used to jump down the government’s throat every time the latter went for strategic sale of PSUs such as Balco, Hindustan Zinc and ITDC hotels. The RSS wasn’t very secretive about its discomfort with Atal Bihari Vajpayee (also a former pracharak) for not pushing its hardcore Hindutva agenda. When the time came, it backed Lal Krishna Advani in foiling Vajpayee’s bid to remove Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, for not following “raj dharma” post-Godhra riots in 2002.
Eighteen years later, the RSS is desperately clinging on to Modi to stay relevant and expand its reach. With ‘brand Modi’ becoming bigger than the RSS, the latter is reconciled to playing a bridesmaid of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Also read: Why RSS has chosen to remind Modi-Shah of its key role in BJP’s big election wins
RSS loses voice in Modi 2.0
About seven weeks after Modi became the PM in 2014, a group of RSS leaders had a four-hour-long meeting with then BJP president Amit Shah to finalise the contours of a mechanism for coordination between the Sangh and the ruling dispensation, before heading for dinner at PM Modi’s residence. In the subsequent months and years, an informal RSS-BJP core group comprising senior RSS leaders Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Dattatreya Hosabale, and Krishna Gopal regularly held meetings with Amit Shah and ministers in Modi’s cabinet for coordination on policy matters. Even though the two sides didn’t always agree, the wide-ranging consultations did provide regular feedback to the government.
In June 2018, BMS representatives met Amit Shah to oppose the proposed labour reforms by amalgamating 44 labour laws into four codes. The RSS affiliate released a statement saying Shah had assured that any changes in labour laws or reforms would be carried out only after consultations with trade unions. But that meeting turned out to be the last round of consultations on the matter. Fourteen months later, the Code on Wages, 2019 one of the first legislation that the Modi government pushed through after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The BMS came around, calling it a “historic legislation” even as other trade unions criticised it.
In July 2019, the RSS replaced Ram Lal, BJP general secretary (organisation), a post held by a Sangh leader on deputation to ensure coordination between the ideological patron and the political protégé, with B.L. Santosh. Ram Lal had held the post for 12 years and was perceived as having been co-opted so much into the BJP system that the RSS found it necessary to replace him with a more assertive ideologue. Santosh has, however, proved to be a BJP cheerleader.
Also read: Vande Bharat vs Bharat ke bande: Can Narendra Modi be losing his political touch so soon?
Not limited to one trade body
The weakening hold of the RSS in the BJP ecosystem that revolves around Modi and Amit Shah is also evident from the way PM Modi suddenly looks disconnected from the ground reality, ingratiating himself with the middle classes while a bigger and more visible crisis involving millions of migrant labourers unfolded on blistering roads and bloody rail tracks.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the RSS, finds itself in the same boat as the BMS. It has also been vociferous in its protests — against labour reforms, disinvestment in public sector undertakings, Facebook-Jio deal, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in education, among others. Frequent protests by the Laghu Udyog Bharti, an RSS affiliate representing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), haven’t made an impression on the Modi government either.
The national education policy, a pet theme of the RSS, has not seen the light of the day in the past six years. Ministries such as the human resource development and health do hold consultations with concerned RSS wings such as Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal and Arogya Bharati, but they are more ceremonial in nature and outcome. The Sangh is also not happy with the Modi government’s response to its stand on organic farming and regulation of e-commerce, among a host of other issues.
Conscious of its eroding authority, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat finally endorsed FDI and disinvestment of industries in his Vijayadashami speech in October 2019.
On the face of it, 38 of the 52 BJP ministers in the Union cabinet have a Sangh background. As do most of the BJP chief ministers. Given that the Prime Minister, the home minister and the defence minister are all from the RSS, the opposition parties often talk about the government being remote-controlled from Nagpur, the RSS headquarters. The reality is, however, more complex as is evident from above-mentioned examples.
Also read: Modi got all the credit for lockdown. Now, he wants states to share risk of unlocking India
RSS’ compulsions
There are two reasons for the RSS’ decision to accept whatever crumbs come its way by way of support from the establishment to its affiliated organisations and appointments of its loyalists on key posts in different institutions.
First, its major ideological agendas have been accomplished under the Modi government — decks cleared for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya; scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status through dilution of Article 370; and criminalisation of triple talaq, which is seen as a step towards the uniform civil code. RSS functionaries are also happy about the “near-universalisation of Hindutva politics” with most parties becoming wary of being seen as supporting Muslims. With its swayamsevaks occupying the top posts at the Centre and in states, there has been a “mainstream-isation” of the RSS in the national political discourse.
Second, the RSS has no other option. Its founder K.B. Hedgewar was once a member of the Congress. Senior Sangh ideologue M.G. Vaidya recalled in an interview that in 1934, M.K. Gandhi had gone to an RSS camp in Wardha. In 1963, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had invited the RSS to take part in the Republic Day parade. In 1965, added Vaidya, Nehru’s successor Lal Bahadur Shastri had consulted then RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar during the India-Pakistan war. “No one is untouchable for the RSS,” he said.
The RSS had also supported the Indira Gandhi government during the Bangladesh Liberation war. In 1984 Lok Sabha election, the Sangh was said to have supported Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress.
But those days were different. The BJP was not a major political force nor was the Congress so decidedly and vociferously against the RSS as it has become under Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul. The Sangh needs political patronage to expand its footprints and pursue its agenda of making India a ‘Hindu rashtra’. It may feel snubbed and marginalised by its former pracharaks and swayamsevaks in the Modi government but the equations have changed. Today, the RSS needs Modi’s BJP more than the BJP needs the RSS.
Views are personal.
Every child accepts certain short coming of the parents, which are never to be spoken about in public, as a mark of respect and appreciation of a great lot of good done by them. Nation and Congress in particular has such reservations about their leaders, just as the BJP.
For all the good these leaders from both the parties have done to the nation , it is petty to talk about swagger being lost etc.
Is it not possible that Vaipayee had a swagger under via-a vis Rss because of the coalition compulsions and the current pracharak Modi has none.
Today at least we have a leader who cannot be blackmailed for his personal deeds in the past.
may be he cannot be blackmailed for his personal deeds in the past; can he be sued at the international court of justice for crimes against humanity?
No public leader can be blackmailed, because if there is a suspicion about some act of theirs, they are openly questioned. Shouldn’t Narendra Modi be questioned about the Rafale?
If the RSS wants to survive as the representative of a RELIGION, then it should immediately DE-LINK itself from the Modi-Shah BJP. Otherwise they will be called poster boys of the ONLY RELIGION in the world THAT PREACHES HATRED.
This is a deadly serious advise.
The author has chosen to use the word ‘bridesmaid’ to describe the reduced role the RSS is playing in the current governance system. The word implies a lack of pre-eminence, but so does ‘groomsman’ – yet bridesmaid has been chosen. At the cost of sounding woke, should we sterilise our language? Or should the richness of language be retained especially when we have bigger fish to fry? What is the right course of action?
If Modi were to toe the Sangh’s line on economic, trade, security & foreign policies, he’d become a left-wing socialist with an unpopular social engineering project to his name. That wouldn’t advance Modi’s interests nor that of the RSS which the RSS hasn’t understood yet. Right-wing social policies must be bolstered with right-wing economic policies to pass muster at the high table.
Well, it is clear that Modi is more acceptable to people than RSS.
They are one and the same. and neither is acceptable. not any more. not after what happened.
wait for 2024 election.
Maybe thats why he won the 2019 elections with a bigger, if not humongous mandate than 2014.
Why should the source of the views, influence et. Al matter to the Nation (and the media). We will be better off as a Nation, to debate the quality of the views and suggestions rather than their origins, thus missing the woods for the trees. With no mileage coming as a matter of course, this may also encourage the “origins” to concentrate on quality rather than self promotion.
The media should take responsibility to channel the Nation’s thoughts to issues rather to organisations and individuals. Else, as happens now, issues don’t get the attention they deserve while individuals and organisations, willy nilly, get promoted.
This a deliberate effort to create rift between RSS and Modi and denigrate modi. There is no truth in the contents.
Author is interesting to get down immage of modijee… But he is fail to do it. Rss, vhp and bjp, all are on one page… This media group is also with same moto.. Print and wire are frustrated now
This sounds like the same people earlier saying that Sonia Gandhi controlled Manmohan Singh.
Y u Lutyens media r cribbing like opposition parties. As long as Modi is alive he will be the PM. RSS is a social organisation doing exemplary service during this corona crisi. The more you media critices Modi his popularity increases. So keep doing it.
The article is nothing more then an expression of the hallucinations of the author. Just because the author desires something doesn’t mean it’s actually happening.
Right, so Modi has not tamed RSS.
MODI IS RSS!
and that does NOT make him more attractive.
All along those opposed to BJP/RSS/VHP are just waiting for an opportunity to pounce upon any chance to create discord among them. So far they have failed, so also in future. The majority community requires a strong ally to ward off any attempt to balkanisation of Hindustan.
Why waste time in discussing about this fascist party in India? They are in the history’s dustbin and people will kick them out in the coming election, you take it for granted.A party of gangsters…thugs…liars and what not.Also they are illiterate in handling the govt. Notorious party ever reigned in India!!Worst that the Mughals and British !!!
Are you sure enough if elections will be held anymore ?
good question! seeing how they are more and more brazen and seem not to care that people are beginning to see through the sham, this is a distinct possibility. be afraid, be very afraid. and then do something about it.
Very appropriate observation by Mr. Santosh Banerjee. The worst ever Loudmouth and liar India had elected in 2014… thanks to the money might of Ambanis and Adanis etc. With the sole aim of capturing all the Institutions and breaking the limbs of all democratic opposition and ultimately purchasing even the most profitable Govt. Navaratna Companies for a pittance. Kicking the poorest of the poors in the name of their Hindutwa Agenda and befooling the country of opportunity seeking AndhGobarBhakats…Gobar n Gaumutra filled mind, thoughts and souls…..
Penman***
Politically it may be an appropriate process to test the waters for the ultimate amendment of the labour laws sometime in the future. The current situation provides the perfect background to undertake the exercise.
On the other hand, is it not time to re-examine the issues to arrive at a pragmatic way forward to protect the interests of labour while providing a healthy base for the development of industry.
One area is the hire and fire policy – Businesses in India has worked around that with the introduction of contract labour. But has an appropriate assessment been undertaken for evaluating the impact of costs to the business and the economic goals of better distribution of wealth in the economy. It promotes the culture of middleman (contractor) in the economy. A feature that has manifest itself in other aspects of our economic life. Increasingly this role has acquired undertone of politics in the country.
The current economic and political situation provides a near perfect situation for a rational analysis and forging a new way forward. But the reality is that we have not witnessed such an analysis in the decision making process thus far, in my understanding. The analysis been conducted today is essentially indulging in analysis with pre-determined outcomes – it seems to me. .
The RSS has more than 100 affiliate organisations of which BJP is one, all of them working independently, with their individual programmes and policies. To expect agreement on all issues is moronic. But Singh slyly suggests disharmonious relationships between RSS and its affiliates, to boost the morale of opponents who do not know much about it. Keep banging against the wall Singh, RSS does not loose anything
DK Singh is trying to sow discord among the various Sangh outfits. Not a new tactic, I have seen it put to good use by journalists all the time to try and break an org that they dislike. Read, and ignore.