The controversy revolving around Congress party’s proposed plan to ban participation of Government staffers in RSS shakhas refused to die down. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday jumped into the war of words on the issue.

Reportedly, it was Chouhan who had lifted the ban on Government employees and officers attending RSS shakhas in year 2006.

Congress in its manifesto released on Sunday has announced to bar Government staff from attending RSS meetings and also prevent RSS from running activities from the premises of Government buildings.

“Not only Government employees, any citizen could attend RSS shakhas,” Chouhan said while addressing a public meeting in the State on Monday. RSS is a nationalist organisation, he said. I had relaxed the norm preventing government staff from taking part in RSS meetings and the respite would continue in future, stated the Chief Minister.

The Congress in the past had approached the Election Commission with the plea that those government employees and officers who are affiliated to RSS should not be deployed in poll duties to maintain fairness and transparency in assembly polls.

The meticulous ploy from the Congress seems to have backfired as BJP in no time grabbed the issue with both hands highlighting the move as Congress conspiracy for banning the RSS in MP and elsewhere in the country.

With the saffron party seniors also jumping into the war of words, Congress apparently on the back foot has been on clarification spree with the latest clarification came from MPCC head Kamal Nath on Monday.

“The BJP is trying to put their words in our mouth making an impression that we have announced to ban RSS,” Nath told the media at PCC on Monday. We have clearly stated in the manifesto, Nath said that RSS would not be allowed to run shakhas from government buildings and the Congress would quash the order allowing government staffers to take part in RSS shakhas.