Ban row: Running govts in 2-3 states, Cong thinks it can intimidate BJP & RSS, says Shobha Karandlaje

Bengaluru, Oct 16 Criticising the decision by the Congress-led Karnataka government to ban activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in public places, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje, remarked on Thursday that if the Congress thinks that by running only two to three governments across the country they can intimidate the BJP and the RSS then they are mistaken.

"In just two or three states if they (Congress) run governments and claim that they will intimidate the BJP and RSS, then that is nothing but foolishness," Karandlaje said.

Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, the Union Minister remarked that targeting State Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, who proposed the ban on RSS, challenged that can he really ban the Sangh.

She also asked the Congress: "In 1948, the RSS was banned. What happened after that? You could do nothing. In 1975, all our leaders were jailed. L.K. Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were imprisoned in the old jail at Freedom Park. What happened then?"

"Can you really ban the RSS? The RSS, which was not afraid of Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi, will certainly not fear a sycophant like Priyank Kharge," She said, adding that Congress governments like that of Siddaramaiah have seen this many times in this country.

"Today, the RSS has grown into a giant tree. What Nehru and Indira Gandhi could not do, can Priyank Kharge -- who lives only under the shadow of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's name -- accomplish? Can CM Siddaramaiah, who quarrels daily for the sake of the CM's chair, really achieve this?" Karandlaje asked.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior BJP leader, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, said, "In today's Cabinet meeting held by the Karnataka government, Minister Priyank Kharge actually suffered a setback. They tried to target the RSS, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, they implemented back the law made by the previous BJP-led state government, which already required all organisations to obtain prior permission before holding events."

"This rule has existed for a long time, during the tenure of all the state governments.

"Minister Priyank Kharge could not have confronted them (RSS) directly. Under the pretext of criticising the RSS, he has now ensured that permission is required for all religious events. For this, I actually appreciate Minister Kharge, even though he opposes the BJP and the RSS," he said.

State BJP General Secretary and MLA V. Sunil Kumar said, "This is a conspiracy to drive the public away from government schools. In today's Cabinet meeting, a decision was taken to impose restrictions on private programmes being held in government and unaided schools as well as in other government-owned spaces. Through this, the state government is moving towards denying public participation in government schools."

"Making prior permission mandatory for private organisations to conduct activities in school premises, and the intent to restrict the entry of private individuals -- what is the purpose behind this?" he asked.

"Rural government schools are not just centres of learning. On weekends, they serve as venues for meetings of associations and organisations, cultural programmes, and sports events. So will the state government now ban all these as well? Restricting access to government school premises means cutting them off from the public, and in the long run, it appears to be the government's ploy to shut down government schools. This is nothing but a childish decision by the Karnataka government," Sunil Kumar said while criticising the Karnataka government.

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