Too crowded
The alleged theft of donations from the Ram temple has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in its centenary year. The scandal has cast a shadow over the organisation’s long-standing claim of instilling integrity and moral discipline among its members. The controversy has also provided an opening for leaders within the sangh parivar to question the RSS’s rapid expansion during the Narendra Modi years. Last week, the Madhya Pradesh minister, Kailash Vijayvargiya, stirred a controversy by suggesting that the sangh’s growing numbers had come at the cost of quality. Speaking at an RSS event in Bhopal, Vijayvargiya said that government officials in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Madhya Pradesh were eager to project their association with the RSS. “Every officer who joins our government says, ‘I too have worn the belt and shorts of the RSS’. After the government came to power, everyone became associated with the sangh,” he said. “The numbers have grown enormously. But in this crowd, truly good human beings are becoming fewer,” he added. The remarks drew sharp criticism from the Congress, which argued that such claims raised serious constitutional concerns about the neutrality of the bureaucracy. They also triggered speculation over Vijayvargiya’s motives, with many attributing his comments to dissatisfaction over his diminished political stature.
Deceptive silence
Ever since the unsuccessful bid for chief ministership by the All India Congress Committee general-secretary (organisation), KC Venugopal, he has become quieter on matters related to Kerala. Venugopal, who is also a Lok Sabha member from the Alappuzha constituency, has mostly been focussing on development programmes there. He has been extremely careful not to criticise the incumbent CM, VD Satheesan, lest the rival faction claim that he is showing his grudge because of his unsuccessful bid to become the CM. But his loyalists have been questioning some reform measures adopted by the Satheesan government in keeping with the group politics of Kerala.
Target practice
Another Congress member of Parliament, Manish Tewari, has made no secret of his disappointment at being left out of all election-related committees in the Punjab Congress. The high command had summoned all top leaders to Delhi in order to end the constant bickering among various factions of the state Congress. Tewari was not called. The former Union minister has been in the dog house since taking part in the Centre’s global outreach on Operation Sindoor last year without the consent of his party. He tweeted, “ Hai bada koi avgun usme jise koi hunar na aave [He who has no skill, has a great flaw]. Wish I had an antidote... for the insecurities of individuals and institutions!” He left the target of his poetic endeavour to imagination, even though most suspect it is Rahul Gandhi. Tewari has since taken up cudgels against peaceniks from India and Pakistan who have written to leaders of both countries to resume dialogue.
Friends and foes
Strange are the ways of political parties. The Mizoram CM and Zoram People’s Movement leader, Lalduhoma, had on June 24 ruled out any formal alliance with the
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance despite being “repeatedly invited” by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah since the regional party came to power in 2023. The ZPM and the BJP have no formal tie-up either in the state or at the Centre. But come July 8, BJP’s Nirupam Chakma is set to take oath as the new chief executive member of the Chakma Autonomous District Council with the support of the ZPM. The BJP has 10 members and the ZPM nine in the 20-member council. The CADC development, once again, proves that there are no permanent friends nor foes in politics.
