RSS affiliates to back govt, won’t lose farm focus
NEW DELHI: Affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have started to tone down their criticism of the government’s economic and labour policies in the run up to assembly elections in five states and the Lok Sabha polls next year, but will keep up the pressure for more support for the farm sector and medium and small scale enterprises, according to functionaries aware of the developments.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gears up to seek a fresh mandate, affiliates such as the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) are publicising the demands met by the government. Senior functionaries of these groups said that while there has been a “noticeable” improvement in certain areas, the government needs to cover more ground on some fronts.
“There is an understanding (within the Sangh) that while the government prepares for polls, affiliates must help raise awareness about the achievements and positive developments. Therefore, going forward, there may not be protests or strong criticism,” said a senior RSS functionary, who asked not to be named.
Differences between the government and the Sangh affiliates have hinged on issues such as low wages and lack of social security for the unorganised sector, low procurement rates for farm produce, and allowing foreign direct investment in critical sectors such as defence, food processing and pharmaceuticals.
The BKS, which praised the announcement for increasing the minimum support price for certain products, wants the government to ensure that the promise is fulfilled on the ground.
It had earlier criticised the government for failing to find a solution to the farm crisis and cautioned that the impact of farmers’ unrest seen in the Gujarat assembly polls could be repeated in states such as Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
“More than 50-55% of the population is dependent on the agriculture sector in one way or the other, but in all these 60-70 years, it never emerged as a centralised issue. It is only now that farmers are actually being talked about,” said Prabhakar Kelkar, general secretary of the BKS.
But the BKS, he said, will not let up the pressure since it wants the government to ensure that better procurement rates are given to small and marginal farmers as well.
“The government should ensure that buying at increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) is actually happening. Otherwise, by merely announcing sops such as loan and tariff waivers, they will make farmers corrupt and unable to be self-sufficient,” he said. Another affiliate, the BMS, which pitched itself in an adversarial position after demonetisation of ~500 and ~1,000 currency notes, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice in the last month to show gratitude for increasing the remuneration for Accredited Social Health Activist and Anganwadi workers.
“Social security schemes such as Aayushman Bharat should cover all, and there should be a pension scheme,”said Vrijesh Upadhyay, general secretary of BMS. “The pending universal social security code and the wage code need to be passed.
The government also needs to increase tax collection so that social security schemes can be extended to a larger population, and there has to be regulation of the contractual employment sector,” said Upadhyay.