Karnataka Home Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge on Saturday defended his letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, asserting his right as home minister to demand transparency from the organization. His remarks came days after he wrote to the RSS chief seeking detailed disclosures on the organization's legal status, finances, structure, and tax compliance.
The RSS is the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the ruling party at the Centre and the principal opposition in Karnataka.
Kharge's Justification
Kharge told reporters, "RSS marching in public, who gives them security? The home department gives them security, right? So I want to know who I am giving security to. You are marching 564 times apparently as per their report. When 100 people are having over 500 marches in my state, and you expect police to give you security, it is the job of the home minister. When 20 lakh people are converging time and again across Karnataka, as per the RSS report, whose job is it to know who these people are, and what they are converging for?"
He added that he would urge Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek information from the RSS on its "shakhas," which are spread across the country. Taking a jibe at the RSS, Kharge—whose father, Mallikarjun Kharge, is the Congress national president—said that since the organization is over 100 years old, it may have misplaced the documents and should search for them in its archives.
BJP's Response
BJP leaders have defended the Sangh, accusing the Karnataka home minister of making "politically motivated statements" to divert attention from the Congress government's "failures."
Background
Priyank Kharge previously served as Karnataka's IT minister. He was elevated to the key home portfolio earlier this month after DK Shivakumar took over as chief minister following a leadership tussle lasting over two years with veteran party leader Siddaramaiah.
