Overview
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the RSS should be banned, described its ideology as a poison, and blamed the BJP-RSS for law-and-order problems.
- Invoking Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he cited letters to Syama Prasad Mookerjee and M.S. Golwalkar to argue that the RSS was previously banned for stated reasons.
- He criticized the Modi government’s July 2024 decision to let civil servants participate in RSS activities, portraying the reversal as a dangerous revival.
- The BJP, through spokesperson Sambit Patra, defended the RSS, referenced the Kapur Commission and historical praise, and compared Kharge’s rhetoric to language used by groups like the PFI.
- Kharge spoke at a press interaction linked to Patel’s birth anniversary and Indira Gandhi’s martyrdom day, following recent calls by Priyank Kharge to restrict RSS activity on government premises.