Amit Shah Praises RSS Role In Nation-Building At Chhattisgarh@25 Conclave

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that no historian can deny the significant contribution of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to India’s national journey, both before and after Independence.

Speaking at a conclave on the book Chhattisgarh@25, Shifting the Lens in Chhattisgarh, Shah said the role and ideology of the RSS have consistently worked towards people’s progress and the protection of their rights.

Expressing gratitude to the organisation, he said, “There is no area in the country where RSS volunteers (swayamsevaks) have not made a positive impact.”

Addressing the 25th anniversary of Chhattisgarh’s formation, the Union Home Minister emphasised that political parties and development must be guided by a strong and positive ideology. He contrasted the BJP’s development-oriented ideological approach with what he described as destructive ideologies.

Shah asserted that Chhattisgarh’s development, often cited as a success under BJP rule, linked to an ideological framework focused on social, economic and infrastructure growth, rather than ideologies that encourage conflict.

He further added that among various institutions, the contributions of RSS volunteers have remained among the most prominent in different sectors of national life since Independence.

State Bifurcation Under NDA and UPA Governments

The Home Minister noted that over the last three decades, both NDA governments under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and UPA governments under Dr Manmohan Singh witnessed the bifurcation of states.

He said that during Vajpayee’s tenure, the leadership created Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand peacefully and through consensus, and all three states now contribute to national progress.

In contrast, Shah said the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure saw the Bill passed amid protests, with MPs from Andhra Pradesh kept out of the Lok Sabha, leading to prolonged disputes.

Referring to the Maoist problem, Shah said it mainly affected border districts of Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, particularly Bastar. He observed that development data from the 1980s showed more than 100 districts were more backward than Bastar when the problem began.

“If the root cause of Maoism is lack of development, then why did this problem not spread to those 100 districts that were even more backward than Bastar?” he asked.