BENGALURU: The Karnataka government’s move to bring in the Karnataka State Public Places and Access Regulation Bill, 2026, is set to add a fresh political flashpoint to the ongoing monsoon session of legislature. Thursday’s cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, approved the proposed Bill and legislation that seeks to establish a legal framework to regulate organised programmes, processions and other activities in public spaces, potentially making prior permission mandatory for such events.
“The Bill will be introduced in the ongoing session for the debate. The proposed legislation is not aimed at RSS, it will be applicable to all organisations, including the Congress party,” a cabinet minister informed TNIE.
Though the proposed law is projected as a measure applicable to organisations and events using public spaces, especially educational institutions, including government and aided schools and colleges, its timing and the government’s earlier stand on RSS activities have made the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) the immediate focus of the political debate. The issue follows a controversy in Chittapur, where the RSS approached the Karnataka High Court after facing restrictions over a route march. The government has maintained that processions and large public gatherings require permission based on law-and-order considerations.
The proposed legislation also comes against the backdrop of the Congress government’s earlier efforts to regulate the use of government properties. On October 4, 2025, Home Minister Priyank Kharge had written to then CM Siddaramaiah to restrict the use of public spaces, and following this, the Cabinet decided to issue a Government Order on October 16, 2025, regulating the use of public properties, including government and aided educational institutions, by private organisations. The government said the regulations would apply generally to all private organisations, rather than targeting any single group.
The controversy, however, has acquired a distinct political colour because of Priyank Kharge’s sustained criticism of the RSS. In June this year, Kharge wrote to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, seeking details about the organisation’s legal status, registration, office-bearers, finances, taxation and funding. Bhagwat rejected the demand as politically motivated, while maintaining that the RSS had no requirement to register in the manner suggested by Kharge.
Kharge had also earlier sought restrictions on RSS activities in government premises and educational institutions. The government’s present proposal, therefore, represents continuation of a broader policy debate over how private organisations should use government-owned land, schools, colleges, playgrounds and other public spaces. While introducing the Bill, the government is likely to withdraw the earlier order that required private organisations and institutions to obtain prior permission to conduct legally permissible activities in public places.
The issue is likely to provide fresh ammunition to the BJP during the ongoing Assembly session. The Opposition can be expected to question whether a law ostensibly meant to regulate all organisations is being framed primarily with the RSS in mind. The Congress, on the other hand, is likely to argue that the proposed framework is organisation-neutral and intended to ensure that public spaces are not used without administrative approval.
The timing is politically significant as the ruling Congress is already facing Opposition pressure over the induction of B Nagendra into the cabinet, and allocation of the Planning and Statistics portfolio to him, despite the controversy surrounding the alleged multi-crore irregularities in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. The BJP is expected to raise the issue during the session.
At the same time, the JDS has intensified its campaign against the proposed Bidadi Township project, with the party seeking to turn the land and farmers’ concerns into a major political issue. The Public
Spaces Bill could consequently provide the Congress government with an issue that shifts the session’s focus towards its confrontation with the BJP and RSS, according to political analysts.
Other decisions
Bangalore Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and Karnataka Apartment (Ownership and Management) Bill, 2026, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Heritage Site Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026
Amendments to recruitment rules for Karnataka Civil Services, appointment or continuation of retired Judicial Service officers on contract in Karnataka Lokayukta
Construction of a 100-bed taluk-level hospital at Jagalur in Davanagere at a cost of `41crore
Implementation of Sandhya Kirana cashless health scheme for regular State government pensioners and family pensioners
Purchase of 400 buses for Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation at an estimated cost of `152crore
Cancellation of 10-gunta grant to Bhatkal Taluk Auto Rickshaw Drivers Owners Association
Cancellation of lease of three acres of Cauvery riverbed land in
T Narasipura, allotted for a 6-MW micro-hydel project, 64.50 acres in Hosapete taluk for 30 years to RBSSN Ltd for establishing a beneficiation plant
Regularisation of A-Khata status for B-Khata sites, granting new A-Khata to sites without khatas in urban areas
Constructing permanent barracks for 1,000 personnel deployed for Assembly-related bandobast at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, Belagavi, cost `20 crore
