BENGALURU: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held around 100 path sanchalans (route marches) across Bengaluru on Sunday, with thousands of swayamsevaks participating in programmes organised in different neighbourhoods, amid a controversy over police permissions and restrictions imposed by the Congress government.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, who participated in the route march organised by the RSS Jayanagar unit along with Legislative Council Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and Jayanagar MLA C K Ramamurthy, accused the state government of harassing the organisation by imposing restrictions and delaying permission until the last minute.
"The state government imposed several restrictions this time and harassed us until the last day over granting permission. In history, neither Indira Gandhi nor Jawaharlal Nehru did such a thing," Ashoka said.
Despite the hurdles, the route marches were conducted peacefully and with enthusiasm, he said, adding that the participants were proud to have organised the event with the aim of preserving the country's harmony.
The annual Vijayadashami route marches were being organised for the day in several parts of Bengaluru, including Vijayanagar-Kengeri, Majestic-Chickpet, Jayanagar-JP Nagar, Rajajinagar and Malleshwaram. RSS representatives had identified these five as major marches, while around 100 marches were organised across the city.
The march in Vijayanagar-Kengeri began at 8 am from KCK Ground, while the Jayanagar-JP Nagar march at 8 am from the BBMP playground. The Rajajinagar programme was scheduled for 8.30 am at KLE Ground, followed by the Malleshwaram march at 9.25 am from Malleshwaram Circle. A march in the Majestic-Chickpet area was scheduled for 4 pm from Muneshwara Temple.
The route marches were also planned in other parts of Karnataka, including Mysuru, Kalaburagi and Tumakuru. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has been participating in a march in Hubballi, while former Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan took part in the Malleshwaram programme in Bengaluru.
The marches came amid a political confrontation over Home Minister Priyank Kharge's demand that the RSS obtain formal police permission for its programmes rather than merely inform the authorities about them.
In a post on X, Kharge questioned the organisation's lack of formal registration and called for transparency and accountability in its funding and financial affairs.
"There is one symbol the RSS seems to fear more than anything else: ®," he wrote, adding that the symbol stood for registration and arguing that formal registration would bring legal scrutiny, financial disclosures and accountability.
Advocate and RSS swayamsevak Girish Bharadwaj countered the argument, saying the Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to form associations under Article 19 (1) (c) and did not make registration under a specific law compulsory for every association.
He also challenged the government to take legal action if it believed there was anything unlawful, instead of making political statements.
The RSS, which describes the route march as a traditional organisational activity, conducted the programmes amid police deployment along key stretches to ensure the processions proceeded smoothly and to prevent untoward incidents.
