Priyank Kharge Questions RSS’s Legal Status, BJP MP Alleges Plot To Bring Mallikarjun Kharge Back As K'taka CM

Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday (4 November) questioned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over its legal status, asking why it had not registered itself as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) if it claimed to be the world’s largest one, the Indian Express reported.

His remarks came amid a row over the RSS’s plan to hold a route march in Chittapur, Kharge’s constituency in Kalaburagi district.

Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, “If you are the world’s largest NGO, shouldn’t you be registered? Why are they so scared of the Indian laws and the Indian Constitution?”

He added that every NGO in India is registered, with information available about its donors, funding sources, and operations. “Everybody knows everything about a voluntary organisation or the NGO in the country, except the RSS. Why? Why are they so secretive? Why aren’t they (a) registered organisation?” he asked.

Kharge also raised concerns over the security protocol accorded to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, saying, “How is taxpayer money being spent on the world’s largest NGOs’ chief? Why do they require so much security?”

He pointed out that such protocols were reserved for the prime minister, home minister, and external affairs minister.

Meanwhile, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lehar Singh Siroya alleged that Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge was “making all these statements and creating a chaotic situation” to pave the way for Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s return to the state as Chief Minister.

Launching a sharp attack on the Congress leadership, Siroya referred to Priyank Kharge and Yathindra Siddaramaiah, sons of senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as “mediocre sons” who were “speaking out of turn” and locked in a “game of one-upmanship.”

The RSS’s planned march in Chittapur, originally scheduled for 19 October, was denied permission by the local administration. The organisation then approached the Karnataka High Court.

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