Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday described as “trampling of the Constitution” an Opposition MP's questioning of the appointment of RSS-linked persons in key positions in educational institutions.
During Question Hour, Samajwadi Party leader Ramji Lal Suman wanted to ask about an appointment to a key position in the National Testing Agency (NTA), the public examination body that conducts entrance tests. He touched upon appointments in other institutions and links with the RSS.
Dhankhar said the RSS had impeccable credentials and the organisation cannot be criticised this way. Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said the Chairman should not object to a member raising questions as per rules.
Dhankhar countered saying he cannot allow the objections of the MP that RSS members are being appointed in institutions.
“The member was trampling the Constitution of India. The RSS is an organisation which is a think tank of the highest order. I will not allow a member to single out an organisation, which is doing national service. This is a violation of the Constitution,” Dhankhar said.
He said every organisation enjoys the right to contribute towards nation-building for the country's progress, adding that the nation needs to benefit from the RSS. “We are doing a great disservice to the nation by taking such a divisive stand,” he said.
In the last few years, people associated with the RSS have occupied key positions in educational institutions.
Atul Kothari, an RSS pracharak and secretary of the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, an RSS-backed organisation, has been appointed professor of practice at the Himachal Pradesh Central University. Many colleges under Delhi University have RSS shakhas on campuses now.
Education ministry sources, however, said the appointments were made on the recommendations of RSS functionaries. In the search-cum-selection committees, academics supporting RSS ideology are included, they said.
Earlier this month, the government withdrew restrictions on government employees participating in RSS activities.
