“mention of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)” as an organisation that government officials cannot be part of, should be “removed”. This bar on officials participating in activities of the RSS first came into effect almost six decades ago. (1966) THE NEW CIRCULAR: Following a directive issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) earlier this month, employees can now participate in the activities of the RSS without attracting disciplinary action under the rules of conduct applicable to them. DoPT’s DIRECTIVE On July 9, the DoPT, which manages the central government’s human resources, said the government has “reviewed” instructions issued in 1966, 1970, and 1980, “and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from the impugned OMs (Official Memorandums) dated 30.11.1966, 25.07.1970 and 28.10.1980”.

WHAT DID THESE CIRCULARS SAY?

  • Certain doubts have been raised about Government’s policy with respect to the membership or any participation in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Jamaat-e-Islami by Government servants. Government have always held the activities of these two organisations to be of such nature that participation in them by Government servants would attract the provisions of sub-rule (1) of Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964.
    • Any government servant, who is a member of or otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisations or with their activities, is liable to disciplinary action.
    • Rule 5 of the 1964 Rules is about “Taking part in politics and elections”.
      • Rule 5(1) says: “No Government servant shall be a member of, or be otherwise associated with, any political party or any organisation which takes part in politics nor shall he take part in, subscribe in aid of, or assist in any other manner, any political movement or activity.”
    • The All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, which apply to officers of the IAS, IPS, and Indian Forest Service, has a similar Rule 5(1).
    • On July 25, 1970, the MHA said, “Action should invariably be initiated against any Government servant who comes to notice for violation of the instructions [of November 30, 1966].”
    • During the Emergency (1975-77), orders were issued to take action against workers of the RSS, Jamaat-e-Islami, Ananda Marg and CPI-ML, whose activities had been banned.
    • On October 28, 1980, the government of Indira Gandhi issued a circular underlining “the need to ensure a secular outlook on the part of Government servants”, and stressed that “the need to eradicate communal feelings and communal bias cannot be overemphasized”.
THE POSITION BEFORE 1966 Before the notification of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, and the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, there was the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, which were framed in 1949, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was home minister. Rule 23 of 1949 was the same as Rule 5 of 1964 and 1968. Thus, participating in political activities was always prohibited for government employees. The nature of the organisations in question was clarified from time to time as per requests and representations. WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN CASE OF VIOLATION? In the most serious cases, violations could lead to the official concerned being dismissed from service. However, since the RSS does not have a system of formal membership, it is difficult to establish an individual’s association with it. WHO DECIDES ABOUT THE ORGANISATION IN QUESTION IS POLITICAL OR NOT? Rule 5(3) of the 1964 Rules says: “If any question arises whether a party is a political party or whether any organisation takes part in politics…the decision of the Government thereon shall be final.” Rule 5(3) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, also says the same. THE JULY 9 CIRCULAR It essentially means that the RSS is not a “political” organisation, and that central government employees can now take part in RSS activities without fear of attracting action under Rule 5(1) of the Conduct Rules. DID IT REMOVE JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI ALSO? Crucially, however, while the 1966, 1970, and 1980 circulars also mentioned the Jamaat-e-Islami as an organisation of a “political” nature, the July 9 circular removes that tag from only the RSS. This means that the Jamaat-e-Islami still remains an organisation whose activities are categorised as “political”, and government officials cannot take part in them. WHAT HAS BEEN THE RSS’s ATTITUDE TOWARDS THESE RULES? The RSS, which describes itself as a non-political, cultural organisation, has repeatedly said that its activities are not affected by such restrictions. On December 1, 2014, Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, when asked whether he would ask the Modi government to lift these restrictions on government employees, said: “Hum sarkar se koi maang nahin karne jaa rahe. Hum apna kaam kar rahe hain. Hamara kaam aise kisi avrodhon se nahin rukta” (We are not going to demand anything from the government. We are doing our work. Our work is not affected by such restrictions).