Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing attack on Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday, following his renewed demand to impose a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). BJP leaders accused Kharge of making historically ignorant and politically provocative statements, warning that such rhetoric could backfire on the Congress, as it once did during Indira Gandhi’s regime.
Leading the charge, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reminded Congress of the consequences of attempting to ban the RSS in the past. “When Indira Gandhi tried to ban the RSS, it boomeranged. She lost power. Today, the RSS is one of the largest nationalist organisations in the world,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Priyank Kharge’s political lineage, Prasad added, “What can one even say about the son of the Congress national president? He should at least speak with some understanding of his own position.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Union Minister Giriraj Singh accused Kharge of repeating history without learning its lessons. “Yes, Mrs. Indira Gandhi once banned the RSS and we all saw her political downfall. Now they too (Congress) will meet the same fate,” Singh warned.
He went on to highlight the Sangh’s contribution to the nation during critical periods. “During the 1971 war, during floods, or any national emergency, it’s the RSS volunteers who have been on the ground first. People who criticise the RSS don’t even understand what it stands for,” Singh asserted.
BJP MP Kiran Choudhary also strongly condemned Priyank Kharge’s comments, calling them “foolish” and “highly irresponsible.” She defended the RSS, describing it as an organisation built on discipline, sacrifice, and cultural preservation. “RSS workers give up their personal lives to serve Bharat Mata and safeguard our civilisational ethos. Anyone attacking them is either misinformed or acting with malicious intent,” she said.
Choudhary also stressed that the RSS deserves respect, not vilification. “It is a nationalist force, not a political enemy. Targeting them reveals only ignorance and political desperation,” she added.
Priyank Kharge’s remarks have stirred fresh ideological tensions between the Congress and the BJP, reigniting the decades-old debate over the RSS’s role in Indian society. Kharge, a vocal critic of the Sangh, has repeatedly called for its ban, citing what he claims to be its “divisive influence” in national politics.
However, the BJP has firmly rejected these allegations, calling the RSS as a pillar of selfless service and national unity.
