India

RSS Urges Protests to Serve National Interest Amid Opposition Unrest

By Smriti Kak Ramachandran

A senior RSS functionary said the Sangh, which has recently concluded its centenary celebrations, does not want young people to view the government as an adversary. "The Sangh believes in dialogue. For years the Sangh was politically and socially victimised, but we did not stop engagement with society," the functionary said, explaining the Sangh’s measured stance. He added that concerns can arise, whether limited to a group or a state, but while the government’s accountability is fixed, society must also act so that vested interests do not mislead youth.

The cautious response follows internal feedback about the union government’s handling of students’ protests over paper leaks in July, when police were accused of using disproportionate force to disperse students marching to Parliament on July 20. The police action gave the Opposition leverage to attack the government in and outside Parliament. With assembly elections approaching in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the RSS is keen to prevent youth discontent from consolidating.

The RSS has not commented on the November 1 rally by Opposition parties at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, which the BJP has branded a "calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, in the name of democracy". A day before the gathering, the RSS, which is meeting for its annual Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal Baithak in Indore, reiterated its position on the ongoing protests and the Opposition’s campaign.

Sunil Ambekar, the chief spokesperson of the Sangh, said citizens have every right to question issues of national concern, but national interest must be paramount. He added that protests should not be misused by forces working against the country and that the Sangh keeps a watch on such events. "Citizens have every right to question, if the issues are of national concern…It has to be kept in mind whether a protest or movement is in the country’s interests and will take the country forward. Everyone has to ensure that movements are not misused and that forces working against the country do not enter them," Ambekar said.

In his annual Vijayadashami address last month, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stressed that agitations do not bring about change; solutions often come from within society. He also cautioned that forces in the West wanted India derailed from its path to becoming a developed nation.

The ongoing protests are part of a longer string of events that have mounted pressure on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. An Indian Express investigation said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even wrote to the cabinet secretary. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. The ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.

Last month, thousands of people hit the streets, braving Metro closures, internet shutdowns, prohibitory orders and 40,000 security personnel who turned the Capital into a virtual fortress and sparked controversy by dragging, manhandling and detaining many agitators. While the Opposition seeks the removal of Kumar and scrapping the controversial special intensive revision, the BJP blames them for trying to destabilise constitutional bodies to deflect attention from their own political and electoral failures.