Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday responded sharply to Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge's remarks questioning why the Sangh remains an "unregistered organisation" despite claiming to serve the nation. Hitting back, Bhagwat said the RSS was founded in 1925, much before India's Independence, and asked whether critics expected the organisation to have registered itself under the British government at that time.
"You know the Sangh started in 1925, do you expect us to have registered with the British government, against whom we were working? After Independence, the laws in Swatantra Bharat do not make registration compulsory. The legal status is also given to unregistered bodies of individuals, so we are categorised as such and recognised as an organisation," Bhagwat asked while replying to a question during an in-house question and answer session organised by the RSS on "100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons" lecture series in Bengaluru,
'Even Hindu dharma is not registered': Mohan Bhagwat
According to him, Income Tax department and courts have termed RSS as a body of individuals and the organisation was exempted from income tax.
Bhagwat further said, "We were banned thrice, which means the government had recognised us; if we didn’t exist, whom would they have banned? Each time, the ban was dismissed by the Courts, and the RSS was recognised as a legal organisation. Many questions have been raised in Parliament and elsewhere. Legally, we are an organisation; we are not unconstitutional. So, there’s no need for registration, even though Hindu dharma is not 'registered'."
Bhagwat’s remarks came in the backdrop of recent comments by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had called for a ban on the RSS. His son, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, also demanded that RSS activities be prohibited in government institutions and public spaces. He further questioned the organisation's registration status and sought transparency regarding its sources of funding.
No Brahmin, no Muslim, no Christian, only Hindus allowed in RSS: Mohan Bhagwat
On the issue of RSS respecting only the saffron flags and not recognising the Indian tri-colour, Bhagwat said while saffron is treated as a Guru in RSS it has high respect for the Indian tri-colour. "We always respect, offer tribute and protect our tricolour," the RSS chief said.
He further said that only Hindus are allowed in the RSS. However, Bhagwat made the statement asserting that Hindu is not a religion, but anyone who is a native of India is a Hindu.
Bhagwat said that Brahmins, Muslims or Christians are welcome to join RSS shakhas if they leave their "separateness" behind and come as “sons of Bharat Mata." "No Brahmin is allowed in Sangh. No other caste is allowed in Sangh. No Muslim is allowed, no Christian is allowed in the Sangh. Only Hindus are allowed. So people with different denominations—Muslims, Christians, any denomination—can come to the Sangh but keep your separateness out," he said.
"Your speciality is welcome. But when you come inside Shakha, you come as a son of Bharat Mata, a member of this Hindu society. Muslims come to Shakha, Christians come to Shakha, as all other castes from the routinely called Hindu society, they also come to Shaka. But we don't take their count, and we don't ask who they are. We are all sons of Bharat Mata. That is how Sangha works..."
Mohan Bhagwat on why RSS supports BJP
Bhagwat explained that the RSS supports the BJP because the party took the initiative to build the Ram Temple. He added that the Sangh's support was based on the cause, not the party, saying that if the Congress had undertaken the construction of the Ram Temple, the RSS would have supported them as well.
Political parties don’t accept Sanghis; every door is closed for them, only the BJP opens its doors for the RSS," he said.
"We support policies, not people or parties. We supported the BJP because they wanted to build the Ram Temple. If Congress had wanted to build it, we would have supported them too," the RSS chief added.
Also Read: 'Being Hindu means being responsible for Bharat': RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Bengaluru event
Also Read: Kharge reiterates demand to ban RSS, cites Patel's 1948 letter; BJP hits back
