Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, recently stated that if Congress comes to power at the Centre, it will ban Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Kharge criticised the RSS for its stance against secularism and socialism. He mentioned that Congress had previously banned the RSS twice and regretted lifting those bans. According to him, the RSS has always been allergic to equality and economic parity since its inception.
“We have opposed the ideology of the RSS in the past also and had banned them two-three times. Lifting the ban was our (Congress’) mistake. They fell at our feet, saying they won’t indulge in anti-national activities. There are documents for this,” he told reporters, according to a report by Deccan Herald.
His statement comes after his father Mallikarjun Kharge slammed RSS' Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale for questioning the presence of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the preamble of the Constitution.
“Dattatreya Hosabale is a man of Manusmriti. He doesn’t want the people from poor classes to come up. He wants to continue what he’s (they’ve) been practising for thousands of years. That’s why he doesn’t like socialism, secularism, liberty, equality and fraternity. RSS is always against the poor people, the scheduled castes, the downtrodden and other communities,” the AICC president told reporters.
“They claim to be the champions of the Hindu religion. If so, they should remove untouchability and work towards keeping India united. Instead of that, simply talking, making noise and creating confusion in the country is very wrong and we are against it," Mallikarjun Kharge added.
“If they are going to touch any word in the Constitution, we will fight tooth and nail,” Kharge asserted.
Hosabale recently called to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble. While addressing an event on the Emergency recently, he said that "the preamble of the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words."
"During the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, and judiciary became lame, then these words were added," he claimed. The RSS leader said discussions were held on this issue later but no effort was made to remove them from the Preamble, PTI reported.
"So whether they should remain in the Preamble should be considered," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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