'Sardar Patel Had Banned RSS As Well', Says Akhilesh Yadav Amid Bajrang Dal Row In Karnataka

Amid the Bajrang Dal row in Karnataka, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday (5 May) said that organisations that spread hatred in the country and society should be banned.

Yadav's statement comes in the wake of the Congress, in its Karnataka election manifesto, equating banned islamist extremist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) with Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the RSS-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and stating that it will take strict action against such organisations that promote "enmity or hatred whether among majority or minority communities".

In a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party, Yadav said that there was a time when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel banned the RSS.

"Inflation and unemployment are at their peak during BJP rule. Development has stopped," said Yadav.

"...organisations that spread hatred in the country and society should be banned. There was a time when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had banned the RSS as well," he said, reports NDTV.