The Hindu : National : Amendments in BJP constitution to strengthen RSS `pracharaks'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 30, 2006

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National

Amendments in BJP constitution to strengthen RSS `pracharaks'

Neena Vyas

Amendments have to be finally ratified by party's national council

NEW DELHI: The two-day national executive committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party that got under way here on Monday has made some significant amendments in the party constitution calculated to strengthen the role of full-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh `pracharaks' (propagandists) in the party machine.

The general secretary in-charge of organisation — currently the position is held by Sanjay Joshi — is to be helped by two secretaries for organisation. Party sources indicated that this would mean the induction of two full-time RSS pracharaks as party secretaries.

The State party president — who, like the party president at the national level, appoints his team of general secretaries — will no longer be able to drop or change the State general secretary in-charge of organisation. To make any changes, the approval of the national president would be required. This position is also held by RSS pracharaks who give full-time to party work and are not eligible for contesting elections.

In a similar move, the district level president can no longer remove the `pracharak' functioning as general secretary organisation at the district level. Any change would require clearance from the State president.

A member of the national executive committee was of the view that this would necessarily mean induction of more RSS `pracharaks' at every level in the party, including districts, thus increasing manifold the direct hold of the RSS on its affiliate, the BJP. The party constitution amendments would have to be finally ratified by the party's national council. After the completion of the party's organisational elections this November, it is customary to hold a national council session, where these amendments would be ratified. After this, a fresh and substantial induction of RSS `pracharaks' into the BJP is expected to take place.

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