The Narendra Modi government’s decision to lift a longstanding ban on central government employees attending RSS events and activities sparked a political controversy on Monday with the Sangh Parivar and BJP leaders hailing the decision and the Opposition taking pot shots at the government over it.

The Centre’s decision – which became public late on Sunday evening – comes against the backdrop of reported friction between the RSS and the BJP, specially over the ruling party’s dismal showing in the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh.

Unwilling to be seen as playing peacemaker between the publicly bickering BJP leaders of UP, the RSS had cancelled a coordination meeting with the party slated for Saturday.

BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the Congress government's decision in 1966 to ban government employees from attending RSS activities was driven by political reasons.

The Congress has always had a negative mindset for nationalist organisatons, and such a thinking has no place in the country, Goyal told reporters.

The BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya also shared a screenshot of the order and said that an "unconstitutional" directive issued 58 years ago has been withdrawn by the Modi government.

Jairam Ramesh: Bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose

The Congress, expectedly, slammed the Centre over its order. First off the block was general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh, who shared on bhis X (formerly Twitter) handle an office memorandum, dated July 9, issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension pertaining to the participation of the government servants in the activities of the RSS.

"The undersigned is directed to refer to the OM (office memorandum)..dated 30.11.1966, OM No. 7/4/70-Est.(B) dated 25.07.1970 and OM No. 15014/3(S)/80- Estt. (B) dated 28.10.1980 on the above subject. 2. The aforesaid instructions have been reviewed and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (R.S.S.S) from the impugned OMs dated 30.11.1966, 25.07.1970 and 28.10.1980," the order read.

In a post along with the picture of the order, Ramesh said on Sunday, "Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 following Gandhi ji's assassination. Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. Even after this the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur."

In 1966, a ban was imposed - and rightly so - on government employees taking part in RSS activities, Ramesh said.

"After June 4th, 2024, relations between the self-anointed non-biological PM and the RSS have nosedived. On July 9, 2024, the 58-year ban that was in force even during Mr Vajpayee's tenure as PM was removed," he said.

"The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose," Ramesh had said, alluding to the RSS uniform of khaki shorts which was replaced by brown trousers in 2016.

He shared a screenshot of the original order dated November 30, 1966, banning the association of government servants with the activities of the RSS and the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Kharge: Modi ji wants to politicise government offices and employees

Congress president Mallkarjun Kharge claimed that Prime Minister Modi wants to politicise employees on an ideological basis.In a post on X, Kharge said on Monday that on this day in 1947, India adopted its national flag but the RSS opposed the Tricolour, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had warned them against it.

"We know how BJP is using RSS to institutionally take over all Constitutional and autonomous bodies. By lifting the ban on government employees from participating in RSS activities, Modi ji wants to politicise government offices and employees on ideological basis," he alleged.

The government is probably taking these steps because the people defeated its "nefarious intent to change the Constitution," he alleged.Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati also slammed the central government over the order saying that it is a politically motivated move to "appease" the organisation and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

"The Centre's decision to lift the 58-year-old ban on government employees from attending RSS shakhas is a politically motivated move to appease the RSS rather than serving the national interest. This is to ease the tensions that intensified between the two after the Lok Sabha elections over government policies and their arrogant attitudes," Mayawati wrote in a post in Hindi on X.

The BSP supremo said that it is essential for government employees to work within the framework of the Constitution and the law with impartiality for public interest and welfare.

"However, the activities of the RSS, which have often been banned, are not only political but also electoral in nature for a particular party. In such a situation, this decision is unfair and should be withdrawn immediately," she said in the post.

(With inputs from PTI)