Ban RSS if you have guts, Congress will burn to ashes: BJP in K'taka
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Bengaluru: Karnataka is currently reeling under a fresh controversy that has surfaced after Priyank Kharge, the newly sworn-in Minister recently reiterated that the party was ready to ban Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal if peace was disturbed.
Now, BJP has strongly reacted to the ban proposal, challenging the grand old party to do the same if it has the guts. The Karnataka unit of the BJP has threatened to “burn" the Congress to “ashes" if the party tries to act on it.
Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka minister R. Ashoka has challenged the newly-formed Congress government in the state, saying "if the party bans even one branch of RSS, it would be nowhere in the state".
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka, reacting to Priyank Kharge's remarks, said, "Your father was unable to ban RSS. It was not done by your grandmother. Even your great-grandfather could not do anything. What can you do now?"
Ashoka said that the Congress had once a majority in the Parliament.
"There were 15-20 state governments in the country. The current condition of Congress is pathetic in the country. If you have guts, ban the RSS. Your government won't last long... for even three months," he said.
"Lakhs of branches of RSS are operating. Show us by imposing a ban on one of the branches," Ashoka challenged, adding "Hindu sentiments are with RSS and Bajrang Dal".
The former Karnataka minister further said that in the new Congress government in the state, "CM Siddaramaiah is silent but Deputy CM Shivakumar is violent". "In every meeting, Shivakumar speaks ahead of the CM and threatens the police department and Hindu organisations," he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka unit BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel said that if any attempt to ban the RSS or Bajrang Dal is made, "the Congress government won't survive".
“Priyank Kharge spoke about banning the RSS. PM Modi is an RSS swayamsevak. We are all RSS swayamsevaks. Even Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Narasimha Rao government tried to impose a ban on the RSS but couldn’t succeed," Kateel said.
“Try to ban Bajrang dal and RSS, Congress will burn to ashes… Priyank Kharge should mind his tongue," the Karnataka BJP president added.
Priyank Kharge reiterated on Thursday that his party is ready to impose a ban on Bajrang Dal. He had also stated earlier that "we will not hesitate to ban organisations which indulge in moral policing. It might be RSS or Bajrang Dal or any other communal organisation".
"We will change the laws brought by the BJP government. If any individual or organisation threatens peace and acts against the Constitution, the government has the capacity to initiate proper action against them", Kharge had said.
