India News | Priyank Kharge Questions RSS Claim of Organisation's Readiness for War in 3 Days
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday raised serious concerns over remarks attributed to Mohan Bhagwat that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) could mobilise a force "within three days" to fight at the border, questioning its legal status and organisational accountability.
New Delhi [India], June 16 (ANI): Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday raised serious concerns over remarks attributed to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh could mobilise a force "within three days" to fight at the border, questioning its legal status and organisational accountability.
He said such claims warrant scrutiny of the organisation's structure, training, funding and command chain, arguing that it raises issues related to national security, public order and constitutional transparency.
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In a post on X, Kharge wrote, "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat claims that, unlike the Army, the @RSSorg can prepare a force and raise an army within three days to fight at the border."
https://x.com/PriyankKharge/status/2066837784992833886
"If an "NGO" claims it can mobilise an army faster than the armed forces of India, shouldn't a State Government have the right to know its legal status, structure, training, funding, command chain and accountability? This is not just a statement. It raises serious questions of national security, public order and constitutional accountability," the post read.
In 2018, while addressing RSS cadres in Muzaffarpur, Mohan Bhagwat had said that RSS can put together an army in just three days, if necessary.
Further, Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also took a swipe at the RSS, questioning its description as a "cultural organisation" while citing its influence and reach across institutions, including education and governance.
https://x.com/KapilSibal/status/2066829260493574360
"Bhagwatji : RSS : A cultural organisation What kind ? Pracharaks used to a 5 star culture Your offices have a 5 star look A convoy of cars follows RSS : Vice Chancellors OSD's Governors Ministers Education curriculum And you are a cultural organisation! Wah !" Sibal in a post on X.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "The RSS, which roams around having taken up the contract to protect Hindu religion, needs Z-plus security to protect its own Sarsanghchalak."
https://x.com/Pawankhera/status/2066864497005092933
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Binoy Viswam criticised the participation of Vice Chancellors in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh programme, saying such involvement was "unwarranted" and against the constitutional values expected from university heads.
He said Vice Chancellors are expected to uphold secularism, democracy and the ideals of the Constitution while leading institutions of higher learning, and argued that their participation in an RSS event was inappropriate for their official role and raised questions about institutional conduct and accountability.
"Vice Chancellors are supposed to lead the Universities and the duty is to make the Universities as a real centre of inquisitive knowledge and they are duty bound to uphold the values of secularism, democracy, socialism and the constitutional principles. Such Vice Chancellors attending an official function of the RSS is most unexpected, unwarranted and unnecessary. By doing that they are unbecoming Vice Chancellors and prefer to become Swayamsevaks," he said.
"They are free to do it as Swayamsevaks, but they are not allowed to do it as Vice Chancellors. Their primary duty is not to Sangh Parivar. Their duty and obligation is to the students, Universities, knowledge under the great national values and the Constitution itself. I feel that the Govt should be more stringent on these issues," Viswam said.
He also alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has no dearth of funds but questioned the sources of its financing, claiming that its support base includes "friends" within and outside the country.
"Everybody knows that RSS has no dearth for funds. Nobody knows from which sources those funds are flowing. The funds are flowing from their innumerable number of friends. Who are their friends? Their friends are inside the country and outside the country, including Israel and America," he further added.
The remarks came after Satheesan criticised the three Vice-Chancellors for participating in an RSS event, saying that their participation has undermined the respect that people have for the Vice-Chancellors.
In an X post, he said that the participation of the three Vice-Chancellors is "unbecoming of Keralam's educational tradition and the dignity of their office."
"The people of Keralam hold the post of vice-chancellor in high esteem. By attending a programme led by an RSS leader who preaches extreme communalism, they have undermined that respect. Any act that promotes communalism, whoever commits it, is unacceptable and will not be condoned. All three vice-chancellors who attended the RSS programme must apologise to the people of Keralam," he added. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)