RSS registration not needed to judge organisation: B.L. Santhosh

BJP leader B.L. Santhosh said the RSS would neither register now nor in future, taking a swipe at the Karnataka government over its proposed public property law. He also targeted Home Minister Priyank Kharge over the RSS registration controversy

Bengaluru: BJP National Organisational General Secretary, B.L. Santhosh, on Saturday said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was not registered and would not register itself in the future either, in a swipe at the Karnataka government over the issue.

He made the statement responding to the state government’s alleged move to introduce the Karnataka Regulation of Use of Government Premises and Public Property Bill, 2026.

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Santhosh was speaking at the ‘Akhanda Bharat Sankalpa Day’ programme organised by the Hindu Jagarana Vedike at Bannappa Park in Bengaluru on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day.

After hoisting the Tricolour and the saffron flag, Santhosh said the history of the country and the contributions of the RSS were known to those who took pride in the nation.

“The RSS is not registered and it will not register. We know what organisations that have registered are doing,” he said, in an apparent reference to Kharge’s remarks on the registration of the RSS.

Santhosh also said that registration could not be considered a benchmark for judging the organisation, and that Priyank Kharge could not be the benchmark for everything.

“I am a BJP worker. I have not come here to speak politics. But for the past 20 years, we have not been able to elect a Hindu representative as an MLA from Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar and Chamarajpet Assembly constituencies. I challenge you—field a Hindu leader in these two constituencies and try to get him elected,” he said.

Targeting Karnataka Home Minister, Priyank Kharge, Santhosh referred to the history of the Kharge family and the Razakar attacks in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

“Your family came to Kalaburagi and built a life here after fleeing the attacks of the Razakars. Your father, Mallikarjun Kharge (AICC Chief), came here fearing the Razakar attacks. The reason you and your family were able to live peacefully here was the Hindus,” he said.

Santhosh alleged that RSS workers had stood on the streets against the Razakars when the police and political leaders were not present.

“When you fled here, it was the RSS that stood against the Razakars. Your police did not come. Your politicians did not come. It was the RSS workers who stood on the streets. You should remember this,” he said.

It can be recalled that responding to allegations from the Opposition BJP over the Karnataka Regulation of Use of Government Premises and Public Property Bill, 2026, Home Minister Priyank Kharge questioned whether the proposed legislation even mentions the RSS.

The proposed legislation has triggered a political controversy, with the BJP alleging that the government intends to use the law to restrict the activities of the RSS and other organisations.

It can be noted that the Karnataka government has proposed stringent penalties for unauthorised use of government premises and public property. Under the proposed law, a first offence could attract up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh. A second or subsequent offence could attract up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.

The Bill seeks to regulate the use of government lands, buildings, roads, parks, playgrounds, water bodies and other public property by private individuals, organisations, associations and societies. It states that unauthorised use would amount to trespass and could also attract an additional fine of up to Rs 5,000 per day if the violation continues after conviction.