NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has sparked a major political controversy by demanding the reinstatement of a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), emphatically invoking the actions of India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, coinciding with Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary, which is observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Kharge reiterated his personal opinion that the RSS should be banned, comparing its ideology to “poison.”
Patel’s Precedent Cited
To bolster his demand, Kharge cited a historical action taken by Patel: the ban on government employees participating in the activities of both the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami.
”Sardar Patel also said that one should not work for the RSS while in government service. He had banned government employees from participating in the activities of the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Modi government lifted on July 9, 2024. We demand that this ban be reinstated,” Kharge asserted.
The Congress chief further justified the 1948 ban on the right-wing organisation by claiming Patel had written in a letter that the RSS “celebrated Gandhiji’s death and distributed sweets” following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Kharge also stated that, as per reports received by Patel, the atmosphere created by the ideology of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha was responsible for Gandhi’s murder.
BJP Slams ‘Indian Nazi Congress’
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) immediately launched a sharp counter-attack, accusing the Congress of hypocrisy and selective appropriation of the national icon.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the Congress had ignored Patel for over 50 years and was now using his name solely to oppose the RSS.
Poonawalla went further, issuing a fiery condemnation: “INC is not the Indian National Congress. It stands for Indian Nazi Congress.” He argued that despite previous conspiracies against it, the court had lifted the ban on the RSS, recognizing it as a non-political organisation whose activities government employees could join.
Poonawalla accused the Congress of being “intolerant,” stating they “stand with the rioters of PFI, SDPI, and MIM but spew venom against RSS, which is working for the country’s welfare.”
The heated exchange underscores the deep ideological rift between the two major parties, placing the historical legacy of Sardar Patel at the centre of modern political discourse.
