Karnataka Minister threatens ban if RSS fails to register
New Delhi: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge has said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should be brought under a legal registration framework and warned of action, including a ban.
According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing a conference titled ‘Why Registration of the RSS is Necessary’ in New Delhi, Kharge described the RSS as the “most unpatriotic and anti-national organisation in the history of India.”
He said the RSS projects itself as patriotic and questions the nationalism of others despite its own “controversial history” and “has no moral authority to issue certificates of patriotism.”
Kharge said he had written to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat after taking charge in Karnataka, asking the organisation to register, but received no response. “If necessary, we will bring legislation in Karnataka to bring the RSS under the ambit of the law.
If they do not comply with the law, they will face action, including a ban,” he said. Bhagwat dismissed the demand as “politics” and “gimmicks,” saying the RSS works openly and does not need to register.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who also spoke at the event, said the debate over the RSS’s legal status has become an important constitutional issue. The RSS, founded in 1925, has been banned three times — in 1948, 1975 and 1992. The last ban was lifted in 1993.
