RSS has constitutional right to participate in developmental journey of the nation: Jagdeep Dhankhar 

Rajya Sabha Chairman rules RSS has constitutional right to participate in nation's development, sparking opposition walkout.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, during Question Hour in the House on Wednesday, ruled that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is “an organisation that has full constitutional right to participate in the developmental journey of the nation” and has “unimpeachable credentials”.

The ruling came in response to remarks by Samajwadi Party’s Ramji Lal Suman, drawing a connection between the National Testing Agency and RSS. The Opposition objecting to Mr. Dhankhar’s remarks staged a walkout.

While posing a supplementary question, to a query by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on “Poor handling of entrance exams by the NTA”, Mr. Suman said, “For them [BJP] the only criteria to assess a person is whether he or she is from the RSS or not…” 

Mr. Dhankhar sharply objected to Mr. Suman’s remarks. Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, supporting Mr. Suman said his allegation was correct and that the Chair should not intervene till the member violates a rule. Mr. Dhankhar retorted by saying, “The member was not transgressing rules, he was trampling the Constitution of India.”

Referring to RSS as a “global think tank” which is allowed to function under Part 3 of the Constitution, Mr. Dhankhar gave his ruling: “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. To take exception that a member of this organisation cannot participate in the development journey of the nation is not only unconstitutional, but beyond the rules.” He also exhorted the House to take pride in the RSS for its contributions to national welfare and Indian culture. He stressed it would be “undemocratic” to object to someone because of their involvement with the RSS. 

“I increasingly find that people are engaging in divisive activities. This is a pernicious design, a sinister mechanism to run down the growth of the country,” the Chairman said.