In Bengaluru on Oct. 13, Karnataka’s Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge defended his push to ban public activities by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He said his father, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, attended an RSS rally in 2002 only to warn the group against creating trouble.
Priyank’s comments followed a BJP photo that showed Mallikarjun Kharge at an RSS gathering in Bengaluru. The party used the image to accuse the minister of hypocrisy, so he answered back in a press briefing.
He dismissed the BJP’s accusations as “misleading propaganda.” Back in 2002, when Mallikarjun Kharge was Karnataka’s Home Minister, he visited an RSS convention in Shivajinagar—a sensitive, communally‑charged area—after holding a peace meeting. “I warned the RSS that any communal violence would get them jailed,” he said.
“The photo also shows police officers, including former Bengaluru Police Commissioner S.P. Sangliana. I challenge the BJP to produce any evidence that my father attended the event as an invitee. He went there only to ensure they did not create mischief,” Priyank asserted.
Priyank struck a sharp line against the BJP, calling it a “puppet of the RSS.” “Without the RSS, the BJP would not exist, and the RSS exists because of religion,” he added. He clarified that his opposition was ideological, not religious: “I am not against Hindus or Hinduism. I am against the RSS because its ideology denies equality and respects neither the Constitution nor society.”
He cited violence in Mangaluru and the Malnad region, noting that most victims were poor, backward‑class youth rather than children of BJP leaders. “We must stop the brainwashing that happens in schools and public spaces,” he urged.
Priyank questioned the special status the RSS enjoys. “If other organisations marched with sticks, would they be allowed? Why is the RSS treated differently?” he asked. He also urged transparency about the RSS’s finances. “If the RSS claims to be an NGO, let them show their registration certificate. How did they acquire properties worth Rs 300‑400 crore? Where does this money come from? We need accountability.”
He ended by linking social and economic equality to curbing divisive organisations. “If we want true equality, we must keep organisations like the RSS out of society,” Priyank said.
Source: ianslive
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