Priyank Kharge questions RSS over police permission for Karnataka march

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge criticised the RSS over its proposed Vijayadashami route marches, insisting that formal police permission was necessary. He also questioned remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and cited the logistical demands of large-scale processions

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), questioning whether the Police Department was subservient to the organisation.

Reacting to a letter submitted by the RSS informing the police about its proposed march, Kharge said the organisation had provided information rather than formally seeking permission for the event.

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“The letter says that they are informing the police, not seeking permission. Let them seek permission. Is the Police Department their domestic servant?” he asked.

Kharge also questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statements on changing the existing governments and politics, asking who had authorised him to speak about a change of regime and political matters.

“What regime change are they talking about? How can regime change happen? The Chief Election Commissioner is theirs, the EVMs are theirs, and the voter list is theirs. Can these be changed? Form 6 is theirs, and Form 7 is theirs. There is still no answer to the question: Why does the Chief Election Commissioner have judicial immunity?” he said, referring to Forms 6 and 7 associated with electoral rolls.

“There is a conspiracy to ensure that they remain in power permanently. This has already been exposed. Isn’t the fact that people are taking to the streets today evidence of this?” he said.

He suggested that this was the reason some people were behaving with such confidence.

Keeping up his attack on the organisation, he said: “Which evil force are we talking about? Who is the one developing links with Pakistan?”

He also called for an examination of the organisation’s history and questioned what protests it had undertaken in the past.

Kharge further said that protests taking place in foreign countries should not be compared with those in India, as the issues involved were different.

Citing France as an example, he said protests there were being held over price rise and education-related issues, whereas demonstrations in India were being organised against the Election Commission.

His remarks come amid a political controversy over the RSS’s proposed march and the procedure for obtaining police permission. The issue has triggered a debate over the organisation’s activities and the conditions applicable to public processions.

Priyank Kharge on Tuesday urged the RSS to follow the prescribed procedure and obtain formal permission from the competent authorities before conducting route marches in the state on the occasion of Vijayadashami.

The move has triggered a controversy.

In a statement addressed to RSS volunteers, Kharge had said that merely informing the Home Department or asking it to cooperate and make necessary arrangements did not amount to obtaining permission.

He urged the organisation to submit an application in accordance with the prescribed procedure applicable to all organisations and await formal approval from the competent authorities.

Kharge also referred to the RSS Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha Annual Report 2025-26, saying that the organisation had conducted 562 route marches across Karnataka involving 2,21,963 uniformed participants.

He said that if lakhs of RSS volunteers intended to march through the streets of Karnataka on a single day at the same time, the Police Department would have to make considerable preparations.

These arrangements would include the deployment of police personnel, transportation, food, traffic management, security and other logistical requirements, Kharge added.

Emphasising the need for proper planning, the Karnataka Minister noted that such large-scale events required manpower and public resources.