Government reaches out to FDI wary RSS wings

Ever since the Modi government opened doors to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in various sectors, several wings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been striking a note of dissent, in sync with the Opposition. A month after announcement of the FDI policy, top government and BJP leaders went into a huddle with Sangh Parivar leaders and affiliates and conveyed that the decisions were necessary to push reforms, sources said.

The meeting, which continued late into the night, was attended among others by union ministers Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman besides BJP President Amit Shah. From the Sangh’s side, the meeting was attended by joint general secretaries Suresh Soni, Krishna Gopal (responsible for co-ordination between the BJP and RSS) and Dattatreya Hosabale. Sitharaman is understood to have made a presentation to explain government's stand at the meeting, which was part of a coordination exercise with the RSS, the party’s ideological mentor.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, the RSS’s trade union wing, which have been in the forefront of resistance to the FDI policy, have been expressing apprehensions that it would hurt small traders and Medium and Small enterprises resulting in reduction in jobs.

The RSS wings are opposed to the 100 per cent FDI in defence, which according to them could put at risk national security. There was concern in the government that the RSS affiliates would join the Opposition in agitating against policies of the Modi regime. The BMS has been criticising the government for what it dubs as “änti-labour” approach.

After it came to power, the Modi government had put in place a coordination mechanism to keep the RSS in the loop on major policy issues. The idea was to ensure there was no antagonism, which had often been witnessed during the Vajpayee regime. The three RSS leaders -- Soni, Krishna Gopal and Hosable -- had attended the coordination meetings over economic and other crucial issues.