Bengaluru: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B.K. Hariprasad on Friday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of being linked to past killings and intensified his attack on the BJP over alleged irregularities in the Ayodhya Ram Temple trust.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Hariprasad questioned the purpose of the RSS’s three-day Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak meeting that began in Belagavi on July 10. He said major violent incidents had followed previous RSS meetings, citing the murders of rationalist M.M. Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh, and urged the public to watch the outcome of the current conclave before drawing conclusions.
The Belagavi meeting is attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale and more than 130 senior functionaries. The organisation says the conclave will review activities, expansion plans, training programmes and preparations for its centenary year. The Karnataka government has said the gathering is a private organisational event that does not require prior permission, while noting any public procession outside the venue would need police approval.
Hariprasad also renewed his demand for a probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya. He called for a CBI investigation into reports of missing funds and valuables, saying questions surround nearly Rs 200 crore and other articles. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take moral responsibility, and demanded their resignations if the allegations prove true.
The KPCC chief said the BJP lacked moral authority to speak on religious matters until the allegations were transparently examined, and framed the Congress’s call for a CBI probe as a move to protect the sanctity of the temple and ensure donor accountability. The BJP has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.