New Delhi: The People’s Commission on Public Sector and Public Services, a policy consultations body, has written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking re-imposition of the ban preventing civil servants and government officials from affiliating with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or any other politically aligned organisation.
The commission in its letter said if the ban is not reimposed, it would set an unhealthy precedent for other political parties, which would undermine India’s democratic and constitutional values.
The letter stressed on the importance of political neutrality within the civil services to ensure that it is unbiased and aligned with the democratic principles enshrined in the constitution.
The commission also said that RSS’s actions “are not always in harmony with the constitution”.
“The agenda of the RSS, and by extension of the BJP, its instrumentality, as revealed by the public statements of these organisations, even if their actions are ignored, reveal that they are prima facie antagonistic to important constitutional provisions,” the commission wrote, emphasising that the BJP must be seen as an extended body of the RSS.
The commission also proposed a mandatory “cooling-off period” of three years for senior officials, judges, and regulators following retirement before they assume roles with politically affiliated organisations.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
