The Uttarakhand government has said that participation of state employees in morning and evening meetings and other cultural and social activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will not be considered a violation of Uttarakhand State Employees Conduct Rules-2002.

Regarding this, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan has issued orders that state employees can participate in RSS programs provided this work does not cause any hindrance in their official duties and responsibilities.

Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan, in a letter dated September 5, said after due deliberation by the government, it has been decided that participation of any government employee in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh branch in morning and evening meetings and other cultural/social activities will not be considered as a violation of Uttarakhand State Employees Conduct Rules, 2002 (as amended from time to time).

Vardhan further stated that such participation or contribution could be done only before and after government office hours.

“In this connection, I have been directed that a Government employee can participate or contribute to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) branch (morning/evening meeting) and other cultural/social activities only on the condition that this work does not cause any hindrance in his official duties and responsibilities. Such participation or contribution can be done only before and after Government office hours,” he added.

He further stated that in this regard, all the government orders issued earlier should be deemed superseded.

Earlier an order reportedly issued by the Ministry of Personnel that permits government servants to part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had resulted in a war of words between the Opposition and the BJP.

BJP leader Amit Malviya said that the unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago imposing a ban on government employees from taking part in RSS activities has been withdrawn by the Central government.

“The unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966, imposing a ban on government employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi government. The original order shouldn’t have been passed in the first place,” Malviya stated on X on Monday citing the July 9 order.

“The ban was imposed because, on November 7, 1966, there was a massive anti-cow-slaughter protest at the Parliament. RSS-Jana Sangh mobilised support in lakhs. Many died in police firing. On 30 Nov 1966, shaken by the RSS-Jana Sangh clout, Indira Gandhi banned Govt staff from joining the RSS,” he added.

Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja has joined BJP, confirmed wife and party MLA from Gujarat Rivaba Jadeja through a social media post on X.

In a post on X, Rivaba shared photos of Ravindra Jadeja’s card as a BJP member, along with her own. The post mentioned the BJP’s membership drive, which began on September 2.

Rivaba Jadeja became a member of the BJP in 2019 and ran for the Gujarat Assembly elections from the Jamnagar North constituency in 2022, with support from her cricketer husband, Ravindra Jadeja.

She emerged victorious with a substantial lead of over 50,000 votes. Despite her husband’s family supporting the Congress party during the campaign, Rivaba Jadeja emphasized that there were no ideological conflicts between her and her husband, stating that their thoughts, ideology, and actions were aligned.

The BJP’s membership drive was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2, followed by national president Jagat Prasad Nadda, and other senior leaders such as UP state president Bhupendra Singh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak re-joining the party.

Furthermore, party veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also renewed their membership on Thursday.

Yesterday, deputy chief minister Pathak said, “As of the evening of September 3, over 27,000 individuals had signed up for BJP membership online.”

He further said that this reflected the strong public trust in the party, surpassing that of any other political organisation in India. The BJP aims to be a ubiquitous, all-encompassing, and inclusive organisation, working to connect with every individual through its membership campaign, he asserted.

The membership drive is scheduled to unfold in three phases, running from September 2 to 25, October 1 to 15, and an active membership drive from October 16 to 31. Each party booth has been tasked with enrolling 200 new members, with a specific focus on engaging with diverse societal groups during the campaign.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality, as he shared a research that highlighted the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister said improved sanitation has become a game-changer for public health in India.

“Happy to see research highlighting the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission. Access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality,” PM Modi said on X.

“Clean, safe sanitation has become a game-changer for public health. And, I am glad India has taken the lead in this,” he added.

He shared a link to a research paper on “Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India”, published in the British weekly scientific journal ‘Nature’.

The report said toilet construction increased dramatically across India following the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014. The post-SBM period in India exhibited accelerated reductions in infant and child mortality compared to the pre-SBM years, it said.

The Swachh Bharat Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the central government on October 2, 2014, to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management.

The report also said that based on regression estimates, the provision of toilets at scale may have contributed to averting approximately 60,000 to 70,000 infant deaths annually.

It added that the implementation of transformative sanitation programmes can deliver population health benefits in low and middle-income countries. 

According to a research report cited by PM Modi, the districts with over 30% SBM coverage experienced a reduction of 5.3 fewer infant deaths and 6.7 fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births. This underscores the critical link between improved sanitation and enhanced child health outcomes.

The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that national sanitation campaigns can lead to substantial public health benefits. They emphasise the necessity for similar interventions in other low and middle-income countries, where sanitation remains a pressing issue.