HVK Archives: Facts and fallacies of remote control
Facts and fallacies of remote control - The Observer
Dina Nath Mishra
()
April 9, 1998
Title: Facts and fallacies of remote control
Author: Dina Nath Mishra
Publication: The Observer
Date: April 9, 1998
The question whether the RSS controls the BJP or not has amused
greater importance as there Is a BJP-led government at the
Centre. In nine states, either there is a BJP-government or the
BJP has a participatory role in the government. If there exists a
remote control in Nagpur, it would be certainly considered an
extra constitutional obstruction and would mean a serious blow to
democratic governance. Controlling the power apparatus has never
been on the RSS agenda. Had the RSS been politically ambitious,
who could have stopped ft from being a political party?. They
could have themselves become direct players in electoral
politics, but they decided against it. The very nature of
politics is not conducive to the mission of the RSS, i.e. to
Inculcate patriotic feelings. They deal m 'applied patriotism' m
every walk of national life. The dream of transforming this
ancient nation into a great and mighty, prosperous and
egalitarian and futuristic nation through massive character
building exercise on a day-to-day basis is too lofty an agenda to
be sacrificed at the altar of competitive politics.
They don't want anything from the BJP other than a non-hostile
government towards it in a country which is basically Hindu.
Actually, they don't need to control the BJP. The people of RSS
orientation are there at various levels in the BJP with the
ideological maturity and value system. In fact, it is they who
have built the party as other svayamsevaks have built
organisations like BMS, ABVP, VHP, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Seva
Bharati, Pragya Bharati, Sanskar Bharati and scores of others.
RSS does not and need not control these organisations. RSS is
busy throughout the year in its organisational work of expending
the network of RSS branches. The orientation of RSS leaders is
nonpolitical to a great extent.
If one looks at the other aspect of the question, one can very
well realise the absurdity of the notion of control. In today's
atmosphere, even fathers do not have control over their wards.
Officers fail to control and run the systems they are entrusted
with. The whole system is gradually moving out of control. In an
atmosphere like this, a totally voluntary organisation like the
RSS controlling parties, organisations and governments is just
unthinkable. Parties and organisations have their own
constitutions which define their role and functioning. But the
problem is that various parties have made their con situations
non-fictional. There are leaders who own the whole party as their
personal property. They directly control the party in a most
autocratic way in full public glare. There are leaders and
parties whose remote controls are in the hands of money bags,
smugglers and the underworld. Then there are remote controls
operating from across the borders. Other kinds of remote
controls are there in the hands of World Rank and IMF. Indian
people, especially those in the political system, are well aware
of the remote controls which subjugated parties like CPM and CPI
for decades. In all those decades, Soviet Union and Chinese had
effective control of their client parties of India.
Before the Indira era, Congress had democratic functioning. In
their AICC sessions, government were criticised and ministers had
to answer. The accountability of the government to the party was
visible during Nehru period and for years even after that. But
the advent of Indira Gandhi resulted in the evaporation of
democratic ethos. It was totally, controlled by one, family until
Narasimha Rao freed it from family clutches. Rao's functioning
also did not improve the democratic health of the party. Now
again, the Congress has relapsed into the dynasty-fold. The
dynasty controls the party totally. If any proof is required, one
can see their resolve on the nuclear front. The chorus of Nagpur
remote control is the product of undemocratic minds and has been
orchestrated by all those practitioners of non-democracy and
limited democracy in their own parties. In contrast, Sangh
Parivar operates by the ethos of consensus. Its opponents have
defined the image of Sangh Parivar organisations by consistent
campaign of misinformation. Now, naturally the actions of these
organisations and the saffron governments are not conforming
"the defined image". Bit by bit, that image given by its
opponents is disintegrating.
Let us look the whole question of remote control from a different
angle. A government has to conduct itself under the given
constitution. Various ministries are autonomous to a great
extent. Barring a few exceptions, all decisions are taken at the
ministerial level. Only a few matters go to the cabinet. Then
there are checks and balances operating hi the system with the
help of judiciary and other pillars of government. Checks operate
through the media also. Further, in a coalition government like
the one headed by Vajpayee, other political checks m the form of
alliance partners become operational. The system becomes less and
less centralised, and more and more decentralised. Naturally, the
governance becomes more and more "control repellent", remote or
otherwise.
In fact, the sangh parivar factor is a big plus point for the BJP-
led government. The parivar has scores of mass organisations
having contact with masses at the grassroot level. It could be
the beneficiary of biggest reservoir of information. The
government can be immensely benefited by it. It is up to the
government to make use of it or leave it. The very availability
of this reservoir places the Vaipayee government m an
unprecedented advantageous position. For, after the Nehru period
no government had this benefit.
In democracies various pulls and pressures operate. There can be
pressures from alliance partners. There can be pressures of the
media too. Thousands of pressures are operational in the
functioning of the government. Lobbies and interest groups too
have their pulls. A government cannot completely disregard their
views. It can ignore them at its own cost. Similarly, RSS too
has its likes and dislikes regarding various matters related to
governance. Their views too cannot be ignored.
Of course, there is a moral pressure of sangh parivar
organisations on the BJPled government. But that was the type of
moral pressure which rishis had on the 'kings in olden times or
Samartha Ramdas had on the regime of Shivaji. There is a reason
behind it. Rishis commanded respect among the masses more than
the kings. Their words carried credibility and weight. Samartha
Ramdas had a large following by virtue of the fact that he had
organised numerous akharas.
BJP too knows it well that its expanding constituency can be
influenced by RSS. If the BJP-led government behaves like the
previous government of Congress, UF, etc. the moral support of
RSS cannot be taken for granted. The relation between RSS and
BJP, and for that matter between RSS and ABVP, BMS, etc. is
remarkably informal.
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