Under what law does RSS exist, asks Priyank Kharge

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday, August 16, questioned under what law the RSS exists and under what legal identity it functions, saying its existence was not in question but its accountability was.

Kharge asked why an organisation that claims to shape the destiny of "Bharath" was reluctant to clearly establish its legal identity and public accountability.

The minister was responding to a statement by BJP national general secretary B L Santosh on Saturday, August 15, in which Santosh said the RSS did not require registration to establish its existence, asserting that the organisation had worked through the trust of millions of people.

Addressing an "Akhand Bharat Sankalp Day" programme organised by the Hindu Jagarana Vedike in Bengaluru, Santosh had claimed that the RSS "had stood by Hindus" during Partition and had continued to function without formal registration.

"Dearest Santosh Ji, nobody is questioning whether the RSS exists. The question is: under what law does it exist and under what legal identity does it function?" Kharge posted on X.

"An organisation cannot invoke its 100-year history, claim millions of members, collect dakshinas (donations), own or use proxy assets, run shadow institutions, organise nationwide activities, influence political and public affairs and then respond to questions of registration, finances and accountability by saying - our existence is self-evident," he said.

Kharge said that if the RSS needs no registration to "establish its existence," it should tell the country what exactly its legal status is, who legally constitutes it, and who owns its assets.

He further questioned in whose name RSS bank accounts are operated, asking, "Under what framework are donations received and accounted for? Where are its audited accounts and statutory disclosures?"

A century-old organisation claiming enormous national reach should be able to answer these "elementary questions," Kharge said, adding that "We exist" is not an answer to the question of accountability, and that history cannot be a substitute for legal transparency.

In a constitutional democracy, the larger and more influential an organisation becomes, the greater the case for transparency, not the lesser, he said.

"So yes, Mr. Santosh, nobody doubts that the RSS exists. The question is why an organisation that claims to shape the destiny of Bharath is so reluctant to clearly establish its legal identity and public accountability," Kharge added.

(Inputs from PTI)