Bidar (Karnataka) [India], June 29 (ANI): Shiv Sena's Karnataka President Andola Siddalinga Swami on Monday criticised Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge for his recent remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying that the minister takes pleasure from constantly abusing the organisation. However, such "happiness will not last long", said the Shiv Sena leader, calling on Kharge to respond to the Bengaluru court summons issued in connection with the minister's comments.
Speaking to the media, Siddalinga Swami said that Kharge had been repeatedly making derogatory remarks against the RSS.
"Priyank Kharge is hurling abuses at the RSS and seems to be deriving great pleasure from it. However, this happiness will not last long. Following such insults, a Bengaluru court (Court Hall No. 42) has now issued a summons to him; he ought to go there and provide a response," he said.
The Karnataka Shiv Sena leader further alleged that Kharge's criticism of the RSS stemmed from political setbacks faced by the Congress.
"You target the RSS only because your father lost to them. Many Congress members have lost to the RSS, and fearing defeat in future elections, you are speaking out against the organisation," he said.
Kharge has repeatedly called to attention the relationship between the BJP and the RSS, alleging that the party has functioned as a mere instrument of the RSS. He had also sought clarity from the RSS regarding its constitutional status and financial compliance, triggering sharp reactions from the BJP and allied organisations.
In a post on X earlier, Kharge said the BJP "rattles" whenever the RSS faces scrutiny, reacting defensively each time. He brought up several questions, which, according to him, ignite the same response: why an outfit, which Kharge claimed, stayed out of the independence movement, now positions itself as an authority on patriotism, and why nearly five decades passed before the national flag was raised at the RSS's Nagpur headquarters.
Kharge went on to ask whose Constitution the RSS truly swears by, Babasaheb Ambedkar's, or "the one they wish they had written instead", and alleged that the organisation refuses to register itself or pay taxes.
"Rattle the RSS & BJP hisses. Everytime anyone questions the RSS, BJP loses its composure. Ask why an organisation that contributed nothing to the freedom struggle now lectures the nation on patriotism and the BJP hisses back. Ask why it took 52 years for the Tricolour to be hoisted at Nagpur and the BJP hisses back. Ask whose Constitution they truly swear by Babasaheb's, or the one they wish they had written instead and the BJP hisses back. Ask why they refuse to register themselves, pay taxes and BJP hisses back. Ask RSS to follow what it preaches and BJP hisses back. The BJP has always been the RSS' instrument, never merely its ally. Every hiss just confirms who's holding the tail," he said on X.
The remarks come amid a continuing row that began after Kharge wrote an open letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking clarity on the organisation's legal status, financial transparency and constitutional accountability as it marks 100 years of its existence, saying an organisation that claims over 60,000 shakhas and crores of swayamsevaks in India and abroad must be held to the "highest standards of transparency, accountability and constitutional compliance". (ANI)
