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Bengaluru, Oct 25 (IANS) The ruling Congress in Karnataka has criticized former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde for his statement that if Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) can be banned, then the oldest party can also be banned.
Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and KPCC media division president Ramesh Babu said on Saturday, “With regard to the issue of banning the RSS, Justice Santosh Hegde’s recent interview to a private channel has sparked a new debate. By saying that if the RSS can be banned, the Congress party can also be banned, he has exposed his double character before the people.”
He said, retired Justice Hegde seems to have taken upon himself the responsibility of acting as the spokesperson in defense of the Sangh Parivar, an organization which was banned twice before independence and thrice after independence.
Justice Santosh Hegde, who did not raise his voice against Sanatanis attempting to attack Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, is now speaking in favor of the RSS through private channels that do not provide a platform for any public debate – this is a sad irony of our system, he criticized.
Hegde said there were no serious allegations against the RSS that warranted a ban and they had not committed any murder.
Ramesh Babu said, “It seems that for them the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the accused murderers are invisible. Similarly, comparing Gandhi’s stick with the RSS stick and mocking it exposes another face of their mentality.”
He alleged, RSS is not one organization – it is a family of about 50 different organizations across the country dedicated to sowing the seeds of hatred under different names.
Justice Santosh Hegde is among the few judges directly appointed to the Supreme Court of India. He claimed that his father KS Hegde was also a Supreme Court judge and later served as Speaker in India’s first non-Congress Janata Party government.
KS Hegde was against the Congress Party and Indira Gandhi. Justice Santosh Hegde’s current statement appears to stem from his long-standing feeling that he was denied the opportunity to become the Chief Justice of India under the Congress-led central government – a belief that is in line with his father’s political leanings, Ramesh Babu said.
Although Santosh Hegde had resigned from the post of Lokayukta in Karnataka in 2010 citing ethical reasons, he withdrew his resignation after a request from BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani. He rebuked him, saying that his current comments appear to be a continuation of that ideology.
Angered by Minister Priyanka Kharge’s letter, the RSS and its allies have exposed themselves through acts ranging from personal attacks to threats of violence, he said.
Justice Hegde’s defense of the Sangh Parivar is also no exception. While fundamental rights are guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution, Justice Hegde and his colleagues are interpreting them as per their convenience. He said, the Supreme Court in many decisions has upheld the right of state governments to maintain law and order.
The Home Department has established on the basis of data that the Sangh Parivar has been involved in many communal riots in Karnataka and across the country. Ramesh Babu alleged that the government cannot remain silent when any organization – including the Sangh Parivar – disturbs law and order, disturbs peace, incites communal hatred, or threatens the security and integrity of the country.
–IANS
MKA/PGH