RSS functionaries operating from inside CMO, influencing govt decisions: Rajasthan Congress chief

Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra on Sunday alleged that RSS functionaries are operating from inside the Chief Minister's Office and other ministries, influencing all government decisions.

"This is the real 'Gujarat Model', make the weakest person the chief minister, the weakest MLAs ministers, and then use bureaucrats to run a corrupt government," he said at a "Save the Constitution" rally in Chomu town near here.

Elaborating on the allegation, Dotasra said, "Works of elected representatives of public interest, regardless of their party affiliations, are not being done. The government only acts on the directions of the RSS, whose people are posted in the CM and ministers' offices."

The Congress leader also claimed that government agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were being "misused to target those who speak out against the RSS".

"If anyone dares to raise their voice against the RSS, they are targeted. I have spoken against the RSS, and the ED was sent to my home too. But we will continue to work for the people. We will not tolerate injustice," he said.

The Congress leader raised concerns over remarks around amending the Preamble of the Constitution. "Why does the BJP want to remove the words 'secularism' and 'socialism' from the Constitution? These are foundational to India's democracy," he said.

"If the Vice President of India starts echoing the language of the BJP and RSS, then nothing poses a greater threat to the Constitution," Dotasra said while accusing the BJP and the RSS of seeking to impose authoritarian rule by amending the Constitution.

"They want to divide the country through hate, and then change the Constitution to create laws like in China or Russia to control the nation forever. But the Congress will never allow this to happen," he asserted.

Last month, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted the preamble of a constitution is "not changeable" but was changed in India during the Emergency, which signals a betrayal of the "wisdom" of the framers of the Constitution.

He also said the words inserted in the Preamble in 1976 during the period of Emergency, were a “nasoor” (festering wound) and could cause upheaval.

Dhankar's remarks came after the RSS called for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar.

The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call for a national debate on whether the terms 'secular' and 'socialist' should remain in the Preamble, terming it "political opportunism" and a “deliberate assault” on the soul of the Constitution.