RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday gave back to the Congress over its remarks that the RSS is not a registered organisation, saying that the organisation is recognised as a “body of individuals”.
His comments came as Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge recently said that the RSS should be banned. His son and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge demanded a ban on RSS activities in government institutions and public places. He even questioned the registration number of the RSS and its sources of funding.
Bhagwat was addressing the “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons” event in Bengaluru, when during an in-house question-and-answer session, he said, “RSS was established in 1925, so do you expect us to have registered with the British government?”
VIDEO | Bengaluru: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat addresses the “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons”. He says, “You know the Sangh started in 1925, do you expect us to have registered with the British government, against whom we were working? After Independence, the laws in… pic.twitter.com/rqGOlVDSdf
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He explained that the Government of India had not made registrations compulsory after independence and that legal status is also given to a body of individuals. “We are categorised as a body of individuals, and we are a recognised organisation,” he said.
The RSS chief said that the Income Tax department, court recognised us as a body of individuals, and the organisation was exempted from income tax.
He also noted that the organisation had been banned thrice. Questioning the Congress, Bhagwat said, “If the RSS was not there, whom did they ban?”
Bhagwat added that there are many things which are not registered. “Even Hindu Dharma is not registered,” he remarked.
Bhagwat addressed claims that the RSS respects only the saffron flag, saying that while saffron is regarded as a Guru within the organisation, it has high respect for the Indian tri-colour.
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“The national flag was first decided to be traditional ‘Bhagwa’ in 1933, but Mahatma Gandhi intervened for some reasons and suggested three colours, with ‘Bhagwa’ on top of it. The Sangh has always respected the Tiranga flag,” he said.
