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Jabalpur, Nov 1 (IANS) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has strongly rejected Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent demand for a nationwide ban on the organisation, saying such a move lacks justification and ignores its enduring public acceptance.
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale gave this reply during a press conference on the second day of the All India Executive Board meeting convened here to chart the way for the centenary of the Sangh.
Addressing journalists in Kachnar city of Madhya Pradesh, Hosabale stressed the RSS’s unwavering commitment to nation building. “There has to be a reason for the ban,” he declared. “What would be achieved by banning an organization deeply engaged in social upliftment? The people of India have long considered the RSS as their own.”
His comments amid increasingly partisan rhetoric underscore the union’s self-perception not as a political rival but as a cultural leader.
The three-day conference was inaugurated on October 30 by RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and Hosabale with floral tributes to Bharat Mata, which is an important moment.
Attended by over 400 top officials – including all six joint general secretaries, regional campaigners and provincial leaders from 11 regions and 46 provinces – it was the first such gathering in Jabalpur in 41 years.
The discussion focused on celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RSS, founded by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on Vijayadashami in 1925, and addressing broader national concerns such as voter list revision and social harmony. As the centenary year (2025-26) approaches – officially launched last month – the RSS envisions wider outreach. The plans include more than 100,000 Hindu conferences across the country, a door-to-door campaign to connect with every administrative block, running from November 2025 to January 2026, and 100 special training camps.
Bhagwat’s three-day lecture series in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, starting on August 26, will promote dialogue on identity, integrity and inspiration. Diplomats (except from select countries) will be invited to global events, while tributes to personalities like the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur and the 150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda highlight cultural reverence.
Kharge’s intervention on October 31 nullified the ban imposed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel after Gandhi’s assassination in 1948 and the ban imposed in 1966 on government employees being involved in RSS activities, which was lifted last year. He accused the RSS and BJP of creating law and order anarchy and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respect Patel’s legacy by reining him in.
Kharge’s son, Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, called for ousting the RSS from state institutions to stop “brainwashing” of the youth.
The BJP immediately hit back, with spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla terming Congress’s call for sidelining Patel’s contributions for decades as hypocritical.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram expressed internal doubts, questioning the feasibility of the ban in today’s legal scenario. Hosabale’s balanced rebuttal reframes the story: from conflict to contribution.
As the meeting ended on Saturday, the RSS signaled readiness for introspection on extravagance – abandoning grand celebrations for dedication to a “united Hindu society” for India’s global rise. In an era of polarized discourse, this Jabalpur Summit reaffirms the long-standing ethos of the Association: Resilience through roots, expansion through engagement.
–IANS
SKTR/UK