Kharge demands ban on RSS, cites Patel’s 1948 letter

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday called for a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that the organisation’s actions have fostered hatred and lawlessness in the country.

Speaking to mediapersons, Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s legacy by allowing government employees to associate with the RSS.

Kharge said his remarks came on a day of “both pride and pain” — the 150th birth anniversary of Patel and the 41st death anniversary of Indira Gandhi. He said both leaders made immense sacrifices for India’s unity, and criticised attempts to use Patel’s name for political gain.

Citing Patel’s letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee dated February 4, 1948, Kharge noted that even the country’s first Home Minister had warned against the RSS’s divisive conduct after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Patel’s letter, he said, recorded that RSS members had celebrated Gandhi’s death and that government reports linked the RSS and Hindu mahasabha’s activities to the atmosphere that led to the killing.

Kharge said Patel’s efforts to uphold India’s secular and democratic values were being undone. He pointed out that in 1964, the Central Civil Services rules barred government employees from joining political or religious organisations such as the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. However, on July 9, 2024, the Modi government withdrew this restriction. “This rule was originally introduced by Patel to keep the bureaucracy neutral and safeguard national unity,” Kharge said.

He also accused the government of “changing school textbooks to hide uncomfortable truths”. “References to Gandhi, Godse, the RSS and the 2002 Gujarat riots have been removed from NCERT books. This is an attempt to erase the truth and rewrite history,” he said.

Kharge alleged that the BJP was trying to create a false divide between Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, though both leaders held deep mutual respect. “Patel called Nehru the nation’s ideal, and Nehru described Patel as the architect of India’s unity,” he said.

Reacting to PM Modi’s earlier remarks crediting Patel for unifying India, Kharge said the BJP was twisting Patel’s legacy to target the Congress while ignoring that Patel himself had once banned the RSS to protect the country’s secular fabric.

On the decision to allow government employees to join the RSS, Kharge warned that restoring such links could again harm the country. “If you try to taste the poison again after killing the snake, the result will be the same — death. There is no need to revive what was once ended for the nation’s good,” he said.

Kharge said his call to ban the RSS was his personal opinion, but one grounded in Patel’s reasoning and the need to safeguard India’s democracy and harmony. He urged the government to withdraw its decision and stop altering history for political convenience.