Bengaluru, Oct 13 (IANS) Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, IT and BT, Priyank Kharge, on Monday defended his call to ban the public activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), clarifying that his father and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had attended an RSS event in 2002 only to warn them against creating trouble.

His remarks came after the BJP circulated a photograph showing Mallikarjun Kharge at an RSS gathering in Bengaluru, accusing him of hypocrisy in light of his son’s demand to ban RSS activities.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Monday, Priyank Kharge dismissed the BJP’s claims as “misleading propaganda.”

He explained that in 2002, when Mallikarjun Kharge was the Home Minister of Karnataka, he had visited the RSS event in Shivajinagar, a communally sensitive locality, only after holding a peace meeting.

“At that time, the RSS was conducting a convention in a sensitive area. As Home Minister, my father went there to ensure peace and warned them that if they indulged in communal violence, they would be jailed,” Priyank said.

“In the photo, police officers, including then Bengaluru Police Commissioner S.P. Sangliana, are also present. I challenge the BJP to produce any document proving that Mallikarjun Kharge attended the event as an invitee. He was there only to caution them,” he added.

Reiterating his stand, Priyank said, “He went there only to ensure they did not create mischief.”

Continuing his criticism, Priyank Kharge accused the BJP of being “a puppet of the RSS.”

“Without the RSS, there is no BJP. The BJP is zero without the RSS, and the RSS is zero without religion,” he said, adding that his opposition was ideological, not religious.

“I am not against Hindus or Hinduism. I am against the RSS because its ideology denies equality and has no respect for the Constitution. Without the Constitution, we would not exist,” he said.

Citing incidents of violence in Mangaluru and the Malnad region, Priyank alleged that victims of RSS-inspired clashes were mostly poor and backward-class youth, not children of BJP leaders.

“The brainwashing happening in schools and public spaces must stop,” he asserted.

Questioning the privileges enjoyed by the RSS, he said, “If other organisations took out marches wielding sticks, would they be allowed? Why should the RSS be treated differently? Why this special privilege?”

He also raised questions about the organization’s funding and accountability.

“If the RSS claims to be an NGO, let them show their registration certificate. How did they acquire properties worth Rs 300-400 crore? Where does this money come from? We need transparency and reforms,” he said.

Priyank concluded that social and economic equality could not be achieved without curbing the influence of divisive organisations.

“Organisations like the RSS must be kept out of society if we want true equality,” he added.

–IANS

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