Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that, in his personal opinion, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should be banned, claiming that most of the country’s law and order problems stem from the BJP-RSS. Speaking on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, Kharge also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of disrespecting Patel’s legacy by allowing government employees to be associated with the Sangh.
Responding to questions from reporters, Kharge said, “It is my personal opinion, and I will say it openly — the RSS should be banned. Most of the issues and law and order problems in the country arise because of the BJP-RSS.” He said Patel’s warnings about the RSS after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948 should serve as a reminder to both the prime minister and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Kharge criticized the government for lifting restrictions on government employees associating with the RSS, saying, “When Sardar Patel himself banned the RSS, lifting that ban now means insulting Patel, who had clearly stated the reasons behind his decision.”
He said Patel’s goal was to bring peace and unity to the nation, but those who now try to divide it should be “taught a lesson.” Kharge added, “After uniting the country, anyone who tries to break that unity must be stopped — and you know who those people are.”
The Congress chief warned that reviving the RSS’s influence could bring harm to the country. “Something that had ended has been revived by this government. They will be responsible for whatever happens next,” he said. Comparing the move to “tasting poison,” Kharge remarked, “The result of such actions is certain death. The things being done by Modi ji are not good for the country.”
Kharge also accused the Modi government of rewriting history by removing references to Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse, the RSS, and the 2002 Gujarat riots from NCERT textbooks. “Erasing the truth from textbooks shows their intentions. They always try to turn lies into truth. Our Prime Minister is an expert in this, and his followers are walking the same path. Sardar Patel banned the RSS to protect secularism and democracy,” he said.
Marking the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel and the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, Kharge said both leaders were pillars of India’s unity. “These two great leaders—the ‘Iron Man’ and the ‘Iron Lady’—made great sacrifices for the country. Their work to maintain unity is the true history of the Congress,” he said.
Citing Patel’s letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee written in February 1948, Kharge recalled, “Patel wrote that after Gandhiji’s death, RSS members celebrated and distributed sweets. The government had no choice but to act against them.” Patel had also written that the environment created by the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha had led to Gandhi’s assassination.
Kharge dismissed the BJP’s repeated attempts to show division between Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel. “There was no rift between them. They admired each other deeply. Nehru praised Patel for uniting India, and Patel called Nehru an ideal for the nation,” he said.
His remarks came after Prime Minister Modi accused Nehru of preventing Patel from integrating Kashmir with India, claiming Patel wanted to unite all princely states. Modi also said the Congress carried forward a “slave mentality” inherited from British rule.
Earlier in the day, Kharge paid tribute to Patel, calling him “the great Iron Man of India who wove the nation into unity and integrity.” He said, “Pandit Nehru called him the architect of India’s unity. Patel’s ideas of harmony and brotherhood remain at the heart of the Congress ideology.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid homage, saying, “By weaving India into one thread, Sardar Patel laid the foundation of our unity. His courage and ideals will always guide us.”
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, born in Nadiad, Gujarat, in 1875, played a key role in India’s freedom struggle and in uniting the country after Independence. He passed away in 1950.
