“It is in line with this synergistic approach that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (on Saturday) instead of blaming the government alone for failing to take pre-emptive and proactive measures that could have prevented the second wave, said it was both the government and the people who misread the situation after the first wave,” said a senior Sangh functionary.

He went on to add, “Anyone who anticipated a showdown between the Sangh and the BJP has also misread the situation.”

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Bhagwat did refer to the situation as grim, saddening and difficult and the deaths as “untimely”, but his message was to not lose hope.

Delivering the lecture online, which is part of the Sangh’s “Positivity Unlimited” initiative, Bhagwat said, “Some people have died… they should not have died this way, untimely…We have to keep ourselves and our people safe and therefore we don’t need negationism. We can’t say nothing has happened; everything is alright. We are not saying that. Situation is hard and saddening, but while accepting that we are not going to allow ourselves to feel negative.”

Sangh functionaries who have been actively involved in various seva or welfare initiatives admit that they have been witness to horrors unfold, particularly in rural areas, but have opted to refrain from pointing fingers.

“There is no time to play a blame-game. Political parties will accuse each other, and governments will spar, but for the Sangh it is time to contribute in whatever way we can. Besides, the situation is so critical that even we find it difficult to extend help,” said a second functionary on condition of anonymity.

The second functionary said the possibility of the second wave denting the BJP’s electoral fortune, particularly in Uttar Pradesh a state where the Sangh has extensive reach, has been “of concern”.

“Even as the cadre itself faces the threat of contracting the Covid-19 virus, the Sangh has set up isolations centres, begun blood and plasma donation drives, and in some instances also helped perform the last rites to lessen the anger,” the second functionary said.

When asked if the Sangh could have opted for a less muted response to the situation given the perceptible public anger, the first functionary said the decision to not embarrass the union government is an instruction from the brass. “On many occasions there have been disagreements, but the top leadership has advised against making it public or using expressions that can embarrass the government. There is room for disagreement but not publicly,” the first functionary said.

For instance, when the new education policy that was high on the Sangh’s agenda was delayed and eventually announced in 2020, there was only reminders and muted outbursts from the affiliates.

The stress on not airing differences in public was taken to avoid the repetition of strained relations between the Sangh, then led by K Sudarshan, and the BJP-government during the premiership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Consequently, disapproval of the government policies and decision making has been carefully structured to avoid giving it an appearance of the Sangh and the BJP being at loggerheads.

In 2017, post demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) roll out, when the micro, medium and small-scale sectors listed the adverse impact of these policy decisions on their businesses, the Sangh again opted for relaying a message without rancour.

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In his annual Dusshera address that year, Bhagwat acknowledged that the biggest contribution toward employment comes from the MSME, retail businesses, and cooperative and agriculture sectors and said called for protecting these from economic “earthquakes”.

“They are our security net during ups and downs in the global trade and economic earthquakes ... Crores of people get jobs or employments through these sectors,” he said.

Political commentator Shirish Kashikar said not airing differences publicly does not mean that the Sangh does not convey the message. “They do it through appropriate channels,” he said.

In recent years, while the affiliates have aired their grievances against economic decisions such as disinvestment, relaxing foreign direct investment and issues related to employment, the criticism against the government was blunted by blaming “experts and bureaucracy” for policy decisions.

In 2017, when the labour arm, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) expressed concern over poor jobs growth, it blamed it on “dependence on faulty advisors and misguided reforms.”

In a statement, it said, “The present slowdown is the result of the wrong direction of the economy and job-displacing reforms followed as a continuation of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) policies. PM’s good intentions and efforts are neutralized by lack of proper experts, lack of communication and feedback from social sector…”

Political commentator Hari Desai however, said that the protests from the affiliates are aimed at diluting public anger. “This is not the same Sangh that opposed policies during Vajpayee’s time. When Vajpeyee was about to allow FDI, Dattopant Thengadi (founder of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch) rushed back to India from South Africa to convince the government about its dangers. Now the Sangh flatters and defends the government,” he said.