BENGALURU: The Chief Whip of the Opposition in Council N Ravi Kumar has questioned All-India Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent call for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Ravi Kumar alleged that Kharge and the Congress have shown selective concern towards organisations accused of promoting violence and communal tension. Kumar asked whether Kharge had ever sought a similar ban on groups such as the PFI or SDPI.
He accused the Congress of inconsistency, pointing to the withdrawal of certain cases during its previous tenure, including those related to the DJ Halli and KG Halli riots. “It is ironic that Kharge is calling for a ban on an organisation like the RSS, which, according to its supporters, works for national unity and social service,” he said, recalling that past Congress governments had themselves lifted bans.
Ex-AICC general secretary and MLC BK Hariprasad hit back and said that the first nationwide RSS ban came in February 1948 following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathuram Godse, RSS member.
“The government lifted the ban in July 1949 after the RSS pledged allegiance to the Constitution. The other recent national ban followed the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid when they dragged the nation into the cauldron of communalisation. We don’t need lessons from RSS-BJP on this. Congress honours anyone who honours the constitution. When the Constitution was adopted in 1949, the RSS launched a fierce attack on it, saying that this Constitution is not the Indian Constitution because it is not based on the values of the Manusmriti,” he added.
