Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday, February 15, said he would ensure that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is brought under the ambit of the Constitution and registered under the law, renewing his attack on the organisation’s legal status and sources of funding.
Speaking during the release of Karavaliya Raktha Kanneeru, a book recounting communal riots in Karnataka’s coastal region by journalist Mohammed Irshad, he said, “If not today, (tomorrow) they will have to register. I will ensure it. As long as we have the law and the Constitution, it will happen. Because we have left them unregistered for 100 years, should we leave them for another 100 years?”
Kharge questioned the RSS’s financial transparency, alleging that it runs a network of over 2,500 affiliated organisations in India and abroad and collects funds from countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom in the name of “Guru Dakshina”.
“Money is being collected from many countries. There is a huge money laundering racket behind the RSS,” he claimed. “If we ask about the source of RSS money, they say it is Guru Dakshina. According to them, Guru Dakshina means ‘flag’. Tomorrow, if I hoist a blue flag and start collecting money, will the government allow it?” he asked.
Responding to remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that the RSS is a body of individuals not requiring registration, Kharge said no organisation should be above the law. “Even the Bangalore Club is a body of individuals. Have they not registered? Are they not paying tax?” he asked.
Kharge likened the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a “devil and its shadow”. “The RSS is the devil and the BJP is its shadow. We are fighting with the shadow. If we fight the devil itself, the country will improve,” he said, adding that without the RSS, the BJP would be weaker than the Janata Dal (Secular).
Kharge maintained that the law and the Constitution must apply equally to all organisations. “When every rupee of others is being accounted for, why is there no accountability for their money?” he asked.
Kharge had stirred controversy last October when he wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging the government to take measures to ensure that government premises are not used for RSS activities.
