As the Opposition intensifies protests against the government and chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities, leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fount of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reiterated the public’s right to protest with a caveat that any such campaign should not be against national interest.
The cautious response follows internal feedback received about the union government’s handling of the students’ protest over paper leaks in July where the police were accused of using disproportionate force to disperse students as they tried to march to Parliament on July 20. “The Sangh believes in dialogue. The subsequent police action gave the Opposition leverage to attack the government in and outside Parliament. “…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. “A storm has swept in from the West, driven by a demonic resolve to destroy and devastate all that is decent, auspicious, and rooted in cultural and human values, both in Bharat and across the world.
A senior RSS functionary said the Sangh, which has recently concluded its centenary celebrations, did not want the youth to see the government as an adversary. 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. “There can be concerns that need attention whether these are limited to a set of people or a state, but while the government’s accountability is fixed, society too must do its bit by not allowing vested interests to vitiate and mislead our youth,” he said. Sunil Ambekar, the chief spokesperson of the Sangh, in response to a question on whether the organisation’s outreach towards the Gen Z was delayed, said, while citizens have every right to question issues of national concern, national interest is paramount. Everyone has to ensure that movements are not misused and that forces working against the country do not enter them,” Ambekar said. Even the so-called developed nations across the world are afflicted by this storm and find themselves helpless before it…” he said.
The ongoing protests are part of a longer string of events that have mounted pressure on Kumar. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. The developments follow an Indian Express investigation that 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.
ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.
