PM to attend three day Sangh Parivar meet

Feedback will be shared on the public perception of the first 16 months of the BJP-led government at the Centre

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in the council of ministers and some BJP chief ministers would take part in a three-day brainstorming session of the larger Sangh Parivar from Wednesday. No decisions would be taken at the meeting but feedback would be given on the public perception of the first 16 months of the government at the Centre.

Such coordination meetings take place twice a year — in January and September. But this one, to be chaired by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, would be the largest of its kind. Apart from those in the government, the meeting would have the top leaders of 15 RSS affiliated organisations, 93 activists of these outfits from across the country and 25 key RSS workers.

Issues likely to come up for discussion were the controversy over caste and religious census data, demand for reservations in Gujarat by the Patel community and the conundrum involving one rank, one pension (OROP) policy for ex-servicemen. There will be special sessions on the state of the economy and on education. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has been invited for the discussion. There will also be a session on foreign policy and national security as also a review of RSS activities and reach.

While the PM and senior ministers are likely to attend to some of the sessions, BJP President Amit Shah and Organising Secretary Ram Lal will attend all the sessions.