- 2 hours ago
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended his letter to the RSS leadership seeking its funding and legal status details, stating he was just doing his job.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Okay, let me go straight to my newsmaker tonight. The Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge is joining me now on
00:06the show tonight. Mr. Kharge, you have stirred a big controversy by writing this open letter to the RSS Chief
00:13Mohan Bhagwat, asking that the RSS register itself, disclose its financial details, its taxation systems. Are you in a sense
00:21spoiling for a fight with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevaksang, Mr. Kharge?
00:32Firstly, Raj Deeb Ji, I don't know how is it called a controversy number one? And how am I itching
00:40for a fight when I'm just doing my job?
00:42And in my letter, it's very clearly stated that it is based on a report by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratiniti
00:55Sabha, which is the highest decision-making body of the RSS.
01:00And they have released a 2025-26 report, which says that they have an extensive footprint in Karnataka. They have
01:104,127 daily shakas. They have 1,389 weekly melons and over 60 monthly mandalies.
01:20And they say that they have had more than 2,194 samajotsavas, where over 20 lakh people have participated.
01:34They have had over 562 route marches in Karnataka, covering up to 3 kilometers, with closer on 2.2 lakh
01:42people participating in uniform.
01:45And this does not by any way look like it is a very random organization doing things. It looks completely
01:55focused. It is completely cater-based.
02:00And more importantly, when more than 20 lakh people are coming together under the name of an organization, isn't it
02:08the responsibility of mine to understand who these people are, what they do, why they do it, and where are
02:17they getting the funding from?
02:20But Mr. Kharge, the RSS says, we are not doing any of this secretly. We have existed for 100 years
02:28as a social-cultural organization, they claim.
02:31And they, of course, it is well known that the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the center, draws
02:36its inspiration from the RSS.
02:37The Prime Minister himself openly admits to being a pracharak of the RSS. This is therefore, according to the RSS,
02:44not some hidden organization.
02:46They are doing all their activities overground. As Mohan Bhagwat says, we are not hiding anything.
02:52He also goes on to add, Mr. Kharge, that there are many unregistered things going on. Hindu religion is not
02:58registered.
02:59What is therefore the necessity, you believe, for the RSS to be registered when it's not a secret organization, according
03:06to Mr. Bhagwat?
03:08I believe you have read my letter. And so has Mr. Mohan Bhagwat and the entire RSS and the BJP.
03:17Show me one line in that entire letter where I am asking the Hindu religion or any religion to register.
03:27You are saying they are not underground organization, they are over the ground and they do everything in the open.
03:34You are asking for disclosing of funds.
03:35That's what I am asking. You are doing things openly. You are doing things in a uniformed way, with uniforms.
03:41You are doing, you are having these marches everywhere.
03:46You claim to be the world's largest NGO.
03:49You claim to take Guru Dakshina. You claim to take donations.
03:52And that's how this organization runs completely voluntarily.
03:57So, what is wrong if I ask them to show the papers?
04:01No, no, because, no, no, no, no, no, Mr. Kharge, Mr. Kharge, Mohan Bhagwat says, all of what you are
04:07doing is a pure gimmick designed to grab the headlines and project the RSS in a bad light.
04:12This is Priyank Kharge, he says, waging a war in a way against a Hindutva force because he is ideologically
04:19opposed to the RSS.
04:20Therefore, this isn't about any specific legal provision that they are violating.
04:25You are waging a political war against the RSS.
04:30I might have ideological differences with 100 institutions, but that doesn't mean that they don't follow the law of the
04:38land.
04:39Irrespective of which ideology you come from, which philosophy you have, either me or Mr. Mohan Bhagwat or anybody else
04:47has to follow the law of the land.
04:51Just because you are a 100-year-old organization, that doesn't make you above the constitution.
04:58No, but what is the specific law in your view, Mr. Kharge, that the RSS is violating at the moment,
05:05the specific law?
05:10I don't even know under what law they are operating.
05:13That's what I'm asking them.
05:15What is your legal status?
05:17What's your organizational structure?
05:19I want details of the office bearers and the authorized representative, the sources of donations, contributions and income, details of
05:26the expenditure and assets.
05:27Under what guidelines should I allow them to operate?
05:30Because as far as I know, I don't find any law that I should allow them to operate under.
05:37So all I'm asking is, show me your legal status.
05:40Continue the great work you are doing.
05:42If you are the world's largest NGO, if you are so influential politically and socially, please show me your papers.
05:51I mean, you have an opinion about Pakistan.
05:53You have an opinion about the economic affairs of the country.
05:57You have an opinion about the foreign policy of the country.
05:59You choose the national president of the BJP.
06:02You choose who should be in the cabinet of every state or in the central government.
06:10And yet, you are not going to be accountable.
06:13Yet, you are not going to tell me who you are.
06:14Everybody knows about RSS, but nobody knows what they are, who they are.
06:22But isn't this a very high-risk target, Mr. Minister, strategy that you are taking?
06:27High-risk strategy, because many believe RSS is a hugely popular, influential organization.
06:32And if you target them in this manner, they will only use it to consolidate their Hindu vote bank further.
06:41I don't quite understand.
06:44You are telling me that I should not do my job.
06:46In fact, in a country where even Lord Ram is being held accountable.
06:52There is controversy in Ayodhya, you know.
06:55Everybody is asking, why have the funds donations gone missing?
07:02People are asking about Ayodhya temple.
07:04People are holding Lord Ram accountable.
07:06But I cannot hold people who do politics in the name of Lord Ram accountable.
07:11And what is the high-risk?
07:12People, my family and me have been in public life for over 50 years.
07:19If we do a good job, people will vote for us.
07:21If they think I have done a bad job, they will vote me out.
07:24You know, Mr. Kharge, you are telling me on this show time and again that you are doing your duty
07:29as the Home Minister.
07:30Is it the duty of the Home Minister of Karnataka in your view to investigate the RSS
07:35in the belief that RSS is some shadowy organization without any specific evidence that they are actually engaging in unlawful
07:43activities purely on suspicion?
07:47What is the principle of natural justice, sir?
07:50Everybody is innocent until and unless you are proved guilty, right?
07:54And I am giving you a chance to come forward and tell it to the government.
07:59I am not telling, come and tell Priyank Kharge what you are doing.
08:02I am saying, come and tell the Home Minister of Karnataka.
08:04How is it that 20 lakh people are gathering in your name?
08:09Why do they gather in your name?
08:11Who are you?
08:12What are you?
08:12Where do you get your funding from?
08:14And it's not going to be between me and RSS, right?
08:18Whatever details you put up, we are going to put it up in public.
08:22And everything is going to be legal.
08:25But as I said, Mr. Kharge, you've seen the response of Mohan Bhagwat to your letter.
08:30He has, as I said earlier, dismissed it as a gimmick, saying they've been targeted in the past, they've been
08:35banned, they've been boycotted.
08:37He's very dismissive of your letter.
08:39He doesn't seem to be in any mood to disclose any details.
08:42So what are you now going to do then?
08:46With all due respect, the clip that is being floated in the social media was on June 13th.
08:54And I had not yet written the letter or disclosed the letter by then.
08:57Although my letter also is dated June 13th, it was only on June 15th it was dispatched because it was
09:03a Saturday and Sunday and we could not dispatch the letter officially.
09:07So only yesterday I put that.
09:08That was for the older comment about that issue that happened in Chitapur and in Karnataka about RSS.
09:16I don't think he was aware that I have written to him officially or was the RSS aware.
09:22And irrespective of whatever it is, I think whether your organization registered, not registered or anything else, when the government
09:34writes to you, you are duty bound to reply to it.
09:38You reply to it rightly or wrongly, that time will tell.
09:41But if you are going to be dismissive about notification or about a clarification sought by the government, if you
09:54think that we are going to take it lying down, I think that's a very wrong way to do things.
10:00So what are you actually going to do?
10:03No, you're saying you're not going to take it lying down.
10:06Are you saying that you're going to act against the RSS now?
10:08If they do not respond to your letter, do not disclose their source of funding, are you ready to go
10:13to that extreme to actually act against the RSS leadership?
10:18I will act against anybody who is not following the law of the land.
10:22It is my duty to respect, to ensure that the law is upheld in my state, the constitution is followed
10:30in my state.
10:30And I have written very, very clearly, seeking seven clarifications, a seven-point clarification.
10:39And let them, if they are, tell me one thing, Rajdeepji, if you have nothing to hide, why are you
10:45allowing all these other people to talk on your behalf instead of you saying it?
10:48Just throw the documents on my face and put an end to it.
10:55I have asked seven questions.
10:56Tell me one of those questions that is illegal or that is unconstitutional or that is illogical.
11:03Just tell me, yes, Priyank, the seven questions that you have asked cannot be asked.
11:08It's unconstitutional.
11:09I will agree to it.
11:10No, no, let, so let me ask you, are you, are you saying that the, no, no, are you saying
11:15the RSS as it stands today is an unconstitutional body as your letter indicates?
11:19Do you believe that this is a body that does not abide by the constitution of the country, does not
11:23pay applicable taxes and does not function within the framework of the constitution?
11:28Give me a direct answer.
11:32I have sought clarification for that.
11:34I have never, in the letter, I have not stated anywhere that they are unconstitutional.
11:39I'm asking their legal status.
11:41I have ambiguity in me.
11:44The government, I looked into the government records.
11:46There is ambiguity in, about the institution.
11:51So let them clarify.
11:52If I have a problem, it's just not about this institution, this organization, right?
11:56Any organization where I do not find clarity, I will seek for clarity.
12:03And they're all duty bound, right?
12:05They're all constitutionally bound to answer to the government.
12:08They're not answering to an individual here.
12:10Can I, but can I ask you, are you doing this entire, are you doing this entire exercise in your
12:16personal capacity or have you been goaded by your father, Malik Arjun Gharge, Congress President, or by Rahul Gandhi, Leader
12:21of Opposition, both of whom have often taken on the RSS head on?
12:25Is this, as I said, ideological warrior waging on their behalf against the RSS?
12:32My party has given me a responsibility to safeguard the state.
12:36And I'm merely doing my duty.
12:38It is not just some rant on social media.
12:40In my official capacity, on my official letterhead, I have asked certain questions.
12:46And it is, whoever the organization it is, whether it is RSS, whether it is SDPI, or whether it's a
12:52private company, anybody, they are duty bound to answer the government.
12:56So, no, that's interesting.
12:58It's interesting.
12:59You're, you know, are you saying that if there is a religious, cultural, Muslim organization, you just mentioned the SDPI,
13:05will they get, go through the same inquiry process?
13:08Will you subject them to the same scrutiny that you want to subject the RSS to today?
13:14Any institute, institution, organization that does not adhere to the constitution or does not adhere to the law of the
13:22land will have to be answerable to the government and to the people of Karnataka.
13:27So, even if the, even if this organization is linked, any organization linked to the Congress party tomorrow, any NGO
13:35linked to the Congress party, you will ask for similar questions to be raised.
13:39Will you raise similar questions on them as well?
13:44Constitution is same to the Congress, to the BJP, to Mr. Mohan Bhagwat and Priyank Harriya.
13:54Okay, Constitution is the same, whether it's for the BJP or Congress, whether it's for Mohan Bhagwat or Priyank Harriya.
14:00You're coming out fighting Priyank Harriya.
14:02We'll see how this plays out.
14:03Appreciate you joining me.
14:04We'll see you next time.
Comments