00:00Okay, let me go straight to my newsmaker tonight. The Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge is joining me now on
00:06the show tonight. Mr. Kharge, you have stirred a big controversy by writing this open letter to the RSS Chief
00:13Mohan Bhagwat, asking that the RSS register itself, disclose its financial details, its taxation systems. Are you in a sense
00:21spoiling for a fight with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevaksang, Mr. Kharge?
00:32Firstly, Raj Deeb Ji, I don't know how is it called a controversy number one? And how am I itching
00:40for a fight when I'm just doing my job?
00:42And in my letter, it's very clearly stated that it is based on a report by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratiniti
00:55Sabha, which is the highest decision-making body of the RSS.
01:00And they have released a 2025-26 report, which says that they have an extensive footprint in Karnataka. They have
01:104,127 daily shakas. They have 1,389 weekly melons and over 60 monthly mandalies.
01:20And they say that they have had more than 2,194 samajotsavas, where over 20 lakh people have participated.
01:34They have had over 562 route marches in Karnataka, covering up to 3 kilometers, with closer on 2.2 lakh
01:42people participating in uniform.
01:45And this does not by any way look like it is a very random organization doing things. It looks completely
01:55focused. It is completely cater-based.
02:00And more importantly, when more than 20 lakh people are coming together under the name of an organization, isn't it
02:08the responsibility of mine to understand who these people are, what they do, why they do it, and where are
02:17they getting the funding from?
02:20But Mr. Kharge, the RSS says, we are not doing any of this secretly. We have existed for 100 years
02:28as a social-cultural organization, they claim.
02:31And they, of course, it is well known that the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the center, draws
02:36its inspiration from the RSS.
02:37The Prime Minister himself openly admits to being a pracharak of the RSS. This is therefore, according to the RSS,
02:44not some hidden organization.
02:46They are doing all their activities overground. As Mohan Bhagwat says, we are not hiding anything.
02:52He also goes on to add, Mr. Kharge, that there are many unregistered things going on. Hindu religion is not
02:58registered.
02:59What is therefore the necessity, you believe, for the RSS to be registered when it's not a secret organization, according
03:06to Mr. Bhagwat?
03:08I believe you have read my letter. And so has Mr. Mohan Bhagwat and the entire RSS and the BJP.
03:17Show me one line in that entire letter where I am asking the Hindu religion or any religion to register.
03:27You are saying they are not underground organization, they are over the ground and they do everything in the open.
03:34You are asking for disclosing of funds.
03:35That's what I am asking. You are doing things openly. You are doing things in a uniformed way, with uniforms.
03:41You are doing, you are having these marches everywhere.
03:46You claim to be the world's largest NGO.
03:49You claim to take Guru Dakshina. You claim to take donations.
03:52And that's how this organization runs completely voluntarily.
03:57So, what is wrong if I ask them to show the papers?
04:01No, no, because, no, no, no, no, no, Mr. Kharge, Mr. Kharge, Mohan Bhagwat says, all of what you are
04:07doing is a pure gimmick designed to grab the headlines and project the RSS in a bad light.
04:12This is Priyank Kharge, he says, waging a war in a way against a Hindutva force because he is ideologically
04:19opposed to the RSS.
04:20Therefore, this isn't about any specific legal provision that they are violating.
04:25You are waging a political war against the RSS.
04:30I might have ideological differences with 100 institutions, but that doesn't mean that they don't follow the law of the
04:38land.
04:39Irrespective of which ideology you come from, which philosophy you have, either me or Mr. Mohan Bhagwat or anybody else
04:47has to follow the law of the land.
04:51Just because you are a 100-year-old organization, that doesn't make you above the constitution.
04:58No, but what is the specific law in your view, Mr. Kharge, that the RSS is violating at the moment,
05:05the specific law?
05:10I don't even know under what law they are operating.
05:13That's what I'm asking them.
05:15What is your legal status?
05:17What's your organizational structure?
05:19I want details of the office bearers and the authorized representative, the sources of donations, contributions and income, details of
05:26the expenditure and assets.
05:27Under what guidelines should I allow them to operate?
05:30Because as far as I know, I don't find any law that I should allow them to operate under.
05:37So all I'm asking is, show me your legal status.
05:40Continue the great work you are doing.
05:42If you are the world's largest NGO, if you are so influential politically and socially, please show me your papers.
05:51I mean, you have an opinion about Pakistan.
05:53You have an opinion about the economic affairs of the country.
05:57You have an opinion about the foreign policy of the country.
05:59You choose the national president of the BJP.
06:02You choose who should be in the cabinet of every state or in the central government.
06:10And yet, you are not going to be accountable.
06:13Yet, you are not going to tell me who you are.
06:14Everybody knows about RSS, but nobody knows what they are, who they are.
06:22But isn't this a very high-risk target, Mr. Minister, strategy that you are taking?
06:27High-risk strategy, because many believe RSS is a hugely popular, influential organization.
06:32And if you target them in this manner, they will only use it to consolidate their Hindu vote bank further.
06:41I don't quite understand.
06:44You are telling me that I should not do my job.
06:46In fact, in a country where even Lord Ram is being held accountable.
06:52There is controversy in Ayodhya, you know.
06:55Everybody is asking, why have the funds donations gone missing?
07:02People are asking about Ayodhya temple.
07:04People are holding Lord Ram accountable.
07:06But I cannot hold people who do politics in the name of Lord Ram accountable.
07:11And what is the high-risk?
07:12People, my family and me have been in public life for over 50 years.
07:19If we do a good job, people will vote for us.
07:21If they think I have done a bad job, they will vote me out.
07:24You know, Mr. Kharge, you are telling me on this show time and again that you are doing your duty
07:29as the Home Minister.
07:30Is it the duty of the Home Minister of Karnataka in your view to investigate the RSS
07:35in the belief that RSS is some shadowy organization without any specific evidence that they are actually engaging in unlawful
07:43activities purely on suspicion?
07:47What is the principle of natural justice, sir?
07:50Everybody is innocent until and unless you are proved guilty, right?
07:54And I am giving you a chance to come forward and tell it to the government.
07:59I am not telling, come and tell Priyank Kharge what you are doing.
08:02I am saying, come and tell the Home Minister of Karnataka.
08:04How is it that 20 lakh people are gathering in your name?
08:09Why do they gather in your name?
08:11Who are you?
08:12What are you?
08:12Where do you get your funding from?
08:14And it's not going to be between me and RSS, right?
08:18Whatever details you put up, we are going to put it up in public.
08:22And everything is going to be legal.
08:25But as I said, Mr. Kharge, you've seen the response of Mohan Bhagwat to your letter.
08:30He has, as I said earlier, dismissed it as a gimmick, saying they've been targeted in the past, they've been
08:35banned, they've been boycotted.
08:37He's very dismissive of your letter.
08:39He doesn't seem to be in any mood to disclose any details.
08:42So what are you now going to do then?
08:46With all due respect, the clip that is being floated in the social media was on June 13th.
08:54And I had not yet written the letter or disclosed the letter by then.
08:57Although my letter also is dated June 13th, it was only on June 15th it was dispatched because it was
09:03a Saturday and Sunday and we could not dispatch the letter officially.
09:07So only yesterday I put that.
09:08That was for the older comment about that issue that happened in Chitapur and in Karnataka about RSS.
09:16I don't think he was aware that I have written to him officially or was the RSS aware.
09:22And irrespective of whatever it is, I think whether your organization registered, not registered or anything else, when the government
09:34writes to you, you are duty bound to reply to it.
09:38You reply to it rightly or wrongly, that time will tell.
09:41But if you are going to be dismissive about notification or about a clarification sought by the government, if you
09:54think that we are going to take it lying down, I think that's a very wrong way to do things.
10:00So what are you actually going to do?
10:03No, you're saying you're not going to take it lying down.
10:06Are you saying that you're going to act against the RSS now?
10:08If they do not respond to your letter, do not disclose their source of funding, are you ready to go
10:13to that extreme to actually act against the RSS leadership?
10:18I will act against anybody who is not following the law of the land.
10:22It is my duty to respect, to ensure that the law is upheld in my state, the constitution is followed
10:30in my state.
10:30And I have written very, very clearly, seeking seven clarifications, a seven-point clarification.
10:39And let them, if they are, tell me one thing, Rajdeepji, if you have nothing to hide, why are you
10:45allowing all these other people to talk on your behalf instead of you saying it?
10:48Just throw the documents on my face and put an end to it.
10:55I have asked seven questions.
10:56Tell me one of those questions that is illegal or that is unconstitutional or that is illogical.
11:03Just tell me, yes, Priyank, the seven questions that you have asked cannot be asked.
11:08It's unconstitutional.
11:09I will agree to it.
11:10No, no, let, so let me ask you, are you, are you saying that the, no, no, are you saying
11:15the RSS as it stands today is an unconstitutional body as your letter indicates?
11:19Do you believe that this is a body that does not abide by the constitution of the country, does not
11:23pay applicable taxes and does not function within the framework of the constitution?
11:28Give me a direct answer.
11:32I have sought clarification for that.
11:34I have never, in the letter, I have not stated anywhere that they are unconstitutional.
11:39I'm asking their legal status.
11:41I have ambiguity in me.
11:44The government, I looked into the government records.
11:46There is ambiguity in, about the institution.
11:51So let them clarify.
11:52If I have a problem, it's just not about this institution, this organization, right?
11:56Any organization where I do not find clarity, I will seek for clarity.
12:03And they're all duty bound, right?
12:05They're all constitutionally bound to answer to the government.
12:08They're not answering to an individual here.
12:10Can I, but can I ask you, are you doing this entire, are you doing this entire exercise in your
12:16personal capacity or have you been goaded by your father, Malik Arjun Gharge, Congress President, or by Rahul Gandhi, Leader
12:21of Opposition, both of whom have often taken on the RSS head on?
12:25Is this, as I said, ideological warrior waging on their behalf against the RSS?
12:32My party has given me a responsibility to safeguard the state.
12:36And I'm merely doing my duty.
12:38It is not just some rant on social media.
12:40In my official capacity, on my official letterhead, I have asked certain questions.
12:46And it is, whoever the organization it is, whether it is RSS, whether it is SDPI, or whether it's a
12:52private company, anybody, they are duty bound to answer the government.
12:56So, no, that's interesting.
12:58It's interesting.
12:59You're, you know, are you saying that if there is a religious, cultural, Muslim organization, you just mentioned the SDPI,
13:05will they get, go through the same inquiry process?
13:08Will you subject them to the same scrutiny that you want to subject the RSS to today?
13:14Any institute, institution, organization that does not adhere to the constitution or does not adhere to the law of the
13:22land will have to be answerable to the government and to the people of Karnataka.
13:27So, even if the, even if this organization is linked, any organization linked to the Congress party tomorrow, any NGO
13:35linked to the Congress party, you will ask for similar questions to be raised.
13:39Will you raise similar questions on them as well?
13:44Constitution is same to the Congress, to the BJP, to Mr. Mohan Bhagwat and Priyank Harriya.
13:54Okay, Constitution is the same, whether it's for the BJP or Congress, whether it's for Mohan Bhagwat or Priyank Harriya.
14:00You're coming out fighting Priyank Harriya.
14:02We'll see how this plays out.
14:03Appreciate you joining me.
14:04We'll see you next time.
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