Overview
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the RSS should be banned, alleging it fosters hatred and lawlessness and citing Sardar Patel’s 1948 correspondence after Gandhi’s assassination.
- Kharge criticized the Modi government for scrapping in July 2024 a 1964 rule that barred government employees from joining organizations such as the RSS, urging reinstatement of the restriction.
- BJP spokespeople rejected the demand, pointing to the Kapur Commission and Supreme Court observations that did not find institutional RSS culpability for Gandhi’s killing and highlighting earlier praise of the Sangh by Patel and Gandhi.
- Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, speaking in Lucknow, referenced Patel’s role in the 1948 ban and quipped that people could “check on ChatGPT” for the reasons, while pledging a Sardar Patel university if his party returns to power.
- The RSS was banned by the Government of India on February 4, 1948 and the prohibition was lifted on July 11, 1949 after the organization agreed to conditions including adopting a written constitution and accepting the national flag.