In the midst of seconding its pracharaks to the BJP (in the last count, 43 in Delhi and different States) and even despatching over 150 of its full-time members to Bihar in the run-up to the Assembly polls there, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) is expressing its reservations about the effects of having a BJP government at the Centre on its organisation.
On two separate occasions last month, the Sangh’s senior leadership has sounded the alarm bells. At a training camp for pracharaks seconded to the BJP, which was held a few weeks ago in Mumbai, the RSS second-in-command, Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi, had some catechisms to impart. He told the group that their focus should remain on the party organisation.
‘Don’t be enamoured of trappings of power’
With the RSS having reservations about the effects of having a BJP government at the Centre on its organisation, its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, has warned them against being enamoured of the trappings of power.
“ Hum pracharak jo hain, desh sewa ke liye hain, samman pane ke liye nahin. Pracharak sangh ka prarthna yaad rakhein aur sanghathan ko mazboot karne ka kaam kare [We pracharaks are here to serve the nation, not to gather encomiums. Pracharaks should remember the Sangh’s prayer and work to strengthen the organisation],” he said.
As the BJP expands its membership, there is also a fear that the umbilical cord between the Sangh and the party may weaken as the party’s dependence on the Sangh — especially as the infantry of its election campaigns — reduces. Walter Andersen, author of a seminal work on the RSS, told The Hindu that this was a real worry with regard to the RSS. “Earlier, the RSS was more on a mission mode... now, with electoral success, some of it has become a form of activism. Their real fear is that they may not be able to remain ‘above the fray’ and exert moral influence,” he said.
