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New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday reiterated his demand for a nationwide ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claiming even Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had restricted government employees from joining its activities. The restriction, lifted by the BJP government in 2024, should be reimposed, he said.
“My personal opinion is that RSS should be banned,” Kharge said at a press conference, comparing the organisation’s ideology to “poison.” The BJP hit back, accusing the Congress of hypocrisy for invoking Patel’s name after “ignoring” his legacy for decades.
Kharge’s remarks came amid an ongoing tussle between the Congress-led Karnataka government and the BJP over government employees’ participation in RSS rallies. “Sardar Patel also said that one should not work for the RSS while in government service. He had banned government employees from participating in the activities of the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Modi government lifted on July 9, 2024. We demand that this ban be reinstated,” Kharge said.
On Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary, observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Kharge also recalled Patel’s role in uniting post-Independence India. Quoting Patel’s February 4, 1948 letter, Kharge said, “Sardar Patel united the country. Jawaharlal Nehru believed that Sardar Patel's contribution was immense. On February 4, 1948, Sardar Patel wrote in a letter about the RSS: ‘The RSS celebrated Gandhiji's death and distributed sweets.’ After this, the government had no other option.”
Kharge further alleged that Patel held the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha responsible for creating the atmosphere that led to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
In response, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “INC is not the Indian National Congress. It stands for Indian Nazi Congress. Despite all their conspiracies, the court lifted the ban on the RSS. They said RSS was a non-political organisation and government employees can take part in their activities. But the Congress is so intolerant that they stand with the rioters of PFI, SDPI, and MIM but spew venom against RSS, which is working for the country's welfare.”
