26 August,2026 01:53 PM IST | Bengaluru | mid-day online correspondent
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said no cases were registered against the RSS in a written reply to the Legislative Council. File pic
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge told the Legislative Council that no cases of communal riots or other crimes had been registered against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He was responding to a question from Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, who had sought details of cases registered against the organisation, its alleged involvement in communal riots and any untoward incidents during its route marches and daily shakhas.
Kharge gave the response in writing, stating that there were no such cases registered.
The response was subsequently used by BJP leaders to target Kharge, who has been a vocal critic of the RSS and has raised questions about the organisation's legal status.
Narayanaswamy posted Kharge's written response on X and accused the Home Minister of pursuing political vendetta against the RSS.
He questioned why Kharge continued to make political allegations against the organisation when, according to the department's official response, there were no registered cases or records of untoward incidents.
Narayanaswamy also urged the Home Minister to focus on law-and-order challenges instead of targeting the RSS.
Former Karnataka minister and BJP MLA Sunil Kumar also referred to a similar response given by then Home Minister G Parameshwara in the Assembly in December 2025.
Comparing the earlier response with Kharge's latest reply, Kumar accused Congress leaders of attempting to tarnish the RSS and criticised Kharge's remarks about the organisation.
The Karnataka BJP also attacked Kharge through its official X handle, arguing that the Home Minister's own department had contradicted his political criticism of the RSS.
Kharge hit back at the BJP, arguing that the response did not amount to a clean chit to the RSS but reflected the organisation's lack of formal legal registration.
He said that when an organisation has no formal legal identity, cases related to offences are registered against individuals rather than against the organisation itself.
Kharge further said the RSS does not have formal membership cards and argued that this distinction was being ignored by the BJP.
Kharge said the issue was one of accountability and transparency. He argued that the RSS should register itself and operate within a transparent legal framework.
He also called for disclosure of the organisation's accounts, assets, funding and liabilities.
The minister said the absence of formal registration raised questions about accountability, particularly in relation to the organisation's influence, assets and membership.
(With inputs from PTI)
