With Narendra Modi at Centre, Swadeshi Jagran Manch hoping for revival in its fortunes

NEW DELHI: After 10 years in political wilderness, the “opposition within the Parivar”, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) is hoping for a revival in its fortunes.

Unlike SJM founder and the revered RSS leader, the late Dattopant Thengadi, who had to take his battles against Vajpayee government’s economic policies to the public, the new SJM leadership is asking RSS to put an advocacy mechanism in place so that the government listens to its policy inputs on FDI, disinvestment, labour laws and genetically modified crops.

The issue is expected to come up for discussion at RSS’ annual stocktaking meeting on July 3 in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar. “SJM is seeking an effective channel of communication with the government. The RSS pracharaks and senior leaders will discuss how to work out a system so that there is a continuous flow of ideas,” a senior RSS leader told ET.

The week-long meeting of RSS will be attended by its chief Mohan Bhagwat, senior leaders and representatives of Parivar organisations like SJM. The RSS leader said apart from SJM, other Parivar offshoots like Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh were also keen to open a channel of communication with the government.

“After a long time, they all feel that there is a friendly government in place. They have high expectations. Though they are free to approach the government directly, they think that using RSS, the mother organisation as a conduit, may be more effective,” disclosed another RSS leader. Senior Sangh leaders were of the view that it was time to lay emphasis on economic issues facing the nation.

“Organisation’s permanent agenda was to ensure the revival of Swadeshi issues. There is a new government at the Centre and we are very hopeful that it will heed to our suggestions,” SJM convenor Arun Ojha told ET, adding SJM’s All India Organiser Kashmiri Lal will attend the RSS meeting on behalf of the organisation. “We will make our stand clear on FDI. We are against FDI in sensitive sectors like the defence,” Ojha said.