Priyank Kharge objects to RSS outreach programmes in Bengaluru apartments

Bengaluru: Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge has raised objections to meetings and outreach programmes being organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in residential apartment complexes in Bengaluru.

The issue came to the fore after social media advertisements for programmes titled “Introduction to RSS: Its Goals and Activities” circulated among residents of two prominent apartment complexes in the city. The invitations announced an interaction from 6pm to 7pm, with Harish Rao, identified as Karnataka South Sah Sampark Pramukh of the RSS, listed as the speaker.

According to the invitation, the programme was aimed at explaining the RSS’s outlook, functioning and its contribution towards building a “strong, united and self-reliant India”.

Reacting on X, Kharge questioned whether apartment associations should allow residential communities to be used for what he described as “ideological recruitment and organised political-social” outreach. He said organisations seeking access to residents and their children should be transparent about their legal status, finances, organisational structure and accountability.

Kharge has previously raised questions about the RSS’s legal status and financial transparency. In June, he wrote to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking details about the organisation’s legal status, structure, funding, expenditure and tax compliance.

Bhagwat subsequently rejected the demand for registration, saying the RSS does not require formal registration and functions openly. He also described the issue as politically motivated.

The dispute has continued in recent months, with Kharge and BJP-RSS leaders exchanging public statements over the organisation’s legal status and accountability. In July, a Bengaluru special court also rejected a contention raised by Kharge in a defamation matter involving an RSS member, holding that an RSS worker could maintain a criminal defamation complaint.