New Delhi, October 31 (UNI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge today launched a scathing attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying that the Hindu outfit should be banned for creating “law and order problems” in the country.
Speaking on the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which also coincides with the 41st death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Kharge said both the Iron Man and the Iron Lady worked for India’s unity and integrity.
Addressing a press conference today, Kharge said that today is both significant and sorrowful.
“On one hand, we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, and on the other, it is sad that today marks the martyrdom of Indira Gandhi. Both of these personalities made immense contributions to the country. One was a ‘Iron Man,’ and the other was the ‘Iron Lady.’ While Sardar Patel worked to unify the nation, Indira Gandhi sacrificed her life to maintain the country’s unity. This is the history of Congress and its contribution to the nation.” He added that it is incomprehensible that some people criticize the party of those who gave their lives for the nation.
“But I want to remind you of what Sardar Patel had said. In a letter dated February 4, 1948, he wrote about how the RSS expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhi Ji’s assassination, which intensified opposition. In such circumstances, the government had no option but to take action against the RSS. Writing to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, he noted that reports clearly showed that the atmosphere created by the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha activities contributed to Gandhi Ji’s assassination,” Kharge said.
“They always tried to portray a rift between India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel when they had great ties and both had praised each other,” he said. Kharge reminded that Patel had banned the RSS that year, calling it a step taken in the interest of the nation’s secular fabric.
He also criticised the Modi government for “distorting history” by removing references to Gandhi, Godse, the RSS, and the 2002 riots from NCERT textbooks. “Sardar Patel banned the RSS in the interest of the nation and secularism. Today, they are rewriting history to suit themselves,” Kharge said.
The Congress chief’s comments came hours after PM Modi paid tributes to Sardar Patel at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, crediting him for unifying India. Kharge further stated, “The people who were responsible for Gandhi Ji’s murder now claim that the Congress does not remember Sardar Patel. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the leader who unified the nation. He presented his views on fundamental rights in the Constituent Assembly, ensuring their inclusion in the Constitution. Patel had said that RSS speeches are filled with communalism. It was because of the RSS that Gandhi Ji was killed.”
On the question of banning the RSS, Kharge said, “This is my personal opinion: the RSS should be banned. The disturbances in the country today are because of the BJP and RSS. The BJP-RSS has always been harmful to the nation, whereas Congress has always worked for the country’s welfare.”
Meanwhile, in a pointed address marking the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel from Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi also accused the Congress party of being responsible for the Partition of India and blamed it for the challenges plaguing the Kashmir region. He criticized his predecessor, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, for not fulfilling Patel’s vision of complete national integration. PM Modi alleged that Congress had historically “furthered the interests of the British” and described the party as “inherited from the British.”
He stated, “Sardar Patel wanted the complete integration of Kashmir into India, just as he had successfully done with other princely states. However, Nehru did not allow that vision to be fulfilled. Kashmir was given a separate constitution and flag, dividing it from the rest of the nation.” At the time of India’s independence in 1947, alongside the British-ruled provinces, there were more than 560 princely states ruled by kings and nawabs that were not directly under British control.
