Priyank Kharge accuses RSS of indulging in money laundering

Priyank Kharge accuses RSS of money laundering, questioning its income sources and unregistered status in a recent statement.

Attacking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) again, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday accused the RSS of indulging in “money laundering” even as he questioned RSS’s source of income. Questioning the unregistered status of RSS, the Minister said that he will ensure that the RSS gets registered one day or the other.

“RSS has a network of more than 2,500 organisations, including those in America and England. They are taking money in the name of Guru Dakshina. The Guru is defined as the flag, and the money is being collected in the name of the flag. I am telling that these people are into money laundering,” said the Minister, who, a couple of months back, had stoked a controversy urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to curtail the activities of RSS. “Where are they getting this kind of money? How is it coming? They want us to be good citizens by paying income tax, but they want to remain free,” he said here during the release of Karavaliya Raktha Kanneeru, a book recounting the horrors of communal riots in the coastal region.

On RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that the RSS was a body of individuals not requiring registration, Mr. Kharge said: “If not today, they will have to register (themselves). I will ensure it. As long as we have the law and the Constitution, it will happen. Because we have left them (without registering) for 100 years, should we leave them for another 100 years? To do it, you have to have political will and be legally and constitutionally right”.

The Minister said that it is good for organisations- whether RSS or others- to come under the ambit of the law. “They (RSS) are unregistered now. Are they above the law? Are they above the Constitution? (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat recently said in Bengaluru that they are a body of individuals. Even the Bangalore Club is a body of individuals. Have they not registered? Are they not paying tax?” he asked.

Being a vocal critic of the RSS, Mr. Kharge has taken on the organisation in recent times. He was accused of stonewalling the RSS centenary celebrations march at Chittapur, which was eventually held after the Karnataka High Court’s intervention. In October, he wrote to the Chief Minister seeking a ban on RSS activities on government premises.

Referring to the Chittapur controversy, he said, “The RSS had given an application to just inform the administration about the march. Will any organisation get approval for such information or should they specifically seek permission? Are they above law?”