Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Jigajinagi, on Wednesday, June 17, launched a sharp attack on Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge over his demand that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) register itself as a legal entity. He questioned why a Dalit person should concern himself with the organisation and accused him of neglecting his ministerial responsibilities.
Addressing a press conference in Vijayapura, Ramesh criticised Priyank for writing to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking details on the organisation's legal status, funding and organisational structure. "Why should a Dalit person be concerned about the RSS? What will you achieve by getting the RSS registered? That is not the job of the Home Minister," he said.
The BJP MP claimed that attempts to take on the RSS had historically failed. "Those who have taken on the RSS have not survived," he said, while adding that anyone seeking to understand the organisation could simply ask the public about it.
Ramesh also questioned Priyank's suitability for the Home portfolio, alleging that the minister owed his position to his father, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. "Priyank Kharge has been made a minister only because of his father's long service to the Congress. He does not have the intellectual capacity required to run the Home Ministry," he said.
He urged Priyank to focus instead on maintaining law and order in Karnataka. "He should concentrate on the affairs of the Home Department and ensure peace in the state rather than raising irrelevant issues like whether the RSS is a registered organisation," Ramesh said.
"Why is the RSS relevant to a Dalit?" the BJP leader questioned.
Ramesh's remarks came days after Priyank released an open letter addressed to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, congratulating the organisation on completing 100 years. He then asked it to formally register itself and disclose details regarding its legal status, office bearers, funding, expenditure, taxation and permissions obtained for its public activities.
In the letter, Priyank argued that an organisation of the RSS's size and influence should be subject to the same standards of transparency and constitutional accountability as trusts, companies, NGOs and other public bodies. Citing figures from the RSS's 2025-26 annual report, he noted that the organisation claims to operate 4,127 daily shakhas, 1,389 weekly milans, 60 monthly mandalis, 2,194 Samajotsavas and 562 route marches in Karnataka alone.
Priyank contended that such an extensive organisational network raised questions about legal status, financial transparency, public accountability and compliance with Indian law. He called upon the RSS to register itself, disclose its finances, pay applicable taxes and function transparently within the constitutional framework.
Former BJP minister MP Renukacharya also criticised Priyank's demand, accusing him of targeting the RSS instead of organisations he described as anti-national.
Addressing reporters in Davangere, Renukacharya said Priyank had no identity beyond being the son of the Mallikarjun Kharge and questioned his authority to ask the RSS to register. He also asked whether organisations such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) were registered, and urged the Home Minister to act against such organisations instead of criticising the RSS.
Renukacharya warned that continued criticism of the RSS and Sangh Parivar would politically damage the Congress and claimed the party would face defeat in the 2028 Assembly elections if it persisted with such attacks.
