Days after Congress MLA from the Chittapur assembly, Priyank Kharge, caused a massive controversy by claiming that the Congress government will not hesitate to ban Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the newly elected Congress government in Karnataka has taken a significant U-turn on Saturday by denying the previous statement.
No one other than the chief minister Siddaramaiah himself has rejected any such assertion. Siddaramaiah declared that any outfit disrupting social peace and harmony will face harsh punishment and clarified that the party has not discussed outlawing RSS. He made these remarks while talking to the media.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s son and a member of the state cabinet Priyank Kharge had equated RSS and Bajrang Dal with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and warned to ban the two Hindu outfits in the state.
#WATCH | When asked about RSS in the wake of Congress' stand on a ban on PFI and Bajrang Dal in the state, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, "Any organisation, either religious, political or social, who are going to sow seeds of discontent & disharmony in Karnataka will not… pic.twitter.com/a6H4pDSWIT
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2023
“We will not hesitate to ban organisations which indulge in moral policing. It might be RSS or Bajrang Dal or any other communal organisation,” the minister threatened. “We will change the laws brought by the BJP government. If any individual, organisation threatens peace and acts against the constitution, the government has the capacity to initiate proper action against them,” he had emphasised earlier.
Kharge also said that the Congress govt will withdraw the ban on hijabs in govt colleges which have uniform norms.
Basavaraj Bommai, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister, asked Congress to prohibit the RSS if they had the courage to do so. Nalin Kumar Kateel, the state head of the BJP in Karnataka, insisted that the Congress administration wouldn’t last if any attempt was made to ban the RSS or the Bajrang Dal.
In response to the proposed ban on the two organisations, senior BJP leader and former minister R. Ashoka issued a challenge to the newly elected Congress administration, declaring that if they closed even one RSS branch, the party would have no presence in Karnataka.
“Your father was unable to ban RSS. It was not done by your grandmother. Even your great-grandfather wouldn’t do anything. What can you do now,” he questioned.
He maintained that there were 15 to 20 Congress governments in the nation and the party held a majority in Parliament. He proclaimed that Congress is currently in a pitiful situation across India and is rapidly disappearing. He then dared the government, if it had the guts, to abolish RSS. “Your government won’t last long for three months,” he declared.
Notably, Congress had compared Bajrang Dal with PFI and Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and promised to ban the group in its Karnataka election manifesto which led to a major backlash and the party tried to do damage control with the help of its senior leaders including former Karnataka chief minister M. Veerappa Moily and present deputy chief minister D. K. Shivakumar.
In addition, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal sent a defamation notice to the party for aligning Bajrang Dal with outlawed terrorist organisations and demanded compensation in the amount of Rs. 100 crore.
