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Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge told News18 that Congressmen know and understanding the RSS because it is seen as the best way to combat their opponent.
Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge (Image: Priyank Kharge/X/File)
Karnataka state Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar apologised for reciting the RSS anthem on the floor of the Assembly, clearly as the party high command did not find it acceptable, but the stand that the Congress has been taking on attacking the RSS still continues. Senior Congress minister Priyank Kharge told News18 that Congressmen know and understand the RSS because it is seen as the best way to combat their opponent.
“As the famous quote from the movie Godfather goes, ‘keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,’ there is a need to know everybody’s history,” said Kharge to News18.
Kharge had said this just before Shivakumar apologised and clarified his stance on reciting the RSS anthem in the Assembly, where he stated that he was doing so only to “pull BJP’s and Opposition leader R Ashok’s leg,” and that there was nothing wrong in knowing what your opponent is doing.
The Deputy CM, while reiterating that he remains a loyal Congressman, went on to apologise saying, “If anyone has been hurt, I feel sorry for them. I just commented and tried to pull their (BJP’s) leg. Some of my friends are taking a political leap, trying to misuse it and cause confusion among the public… I don’t want to hurt their feelings. If anyone has been hurt, I feel sorry for them.”
Shivakumar’s apology comes in the background of MLC and senior Congressman BK Hariprasad slamming him for reciting the RSS anthem on the floor of the house during the discussion on the Chinnaswamy stampede. Hariprasad had said that Shivakumar must apologise and it was not right for the state Congress chief to do so. He also “wondered if DK Shivakumar was trying to impress someone” by singing the RSS anthem inside the assembly.
Hariprasad had said that it was wrong of him to have recited the prayer of the organisation that “had assassinated Mahatma Gandhi”. “We have no objection to Shivakumar reciting the prayer as the Deputy CM because a government belongs to all, including the RSS. But he’s not supposed to say it as the Congress President. If he said it as Congress President, he’ll have to apologise,” he had said demanding the apology.
On a question posed to Kharge on whether the party is embarrassed by Shivakumar’s statement, he responded saying, “If you don’t know the opposition’s history, how will you even get back at them? Just because you read and learn about the RSS does not make you an RSS affiliate,” he said.
Recently, Kharge had made the comment that the air of the RSS should not touch people. He added, “How will we know that the air is good or bad for us? Only when you take in a little, right? Good one. How do you judge a coffee? Only when you sip it. But unfortunately our seniors have already breathed that air and that’s how we know it’s not good for the constitution. That’s why it’s not good for the people.”
Stating that whether it is the state Congress chief, the Congress in Karnataka, or Rahul Gandhi, they are all united against what they think of the RSS. “The PM says that the RSS is the world’s largest NGO, but I say that it is the only NGO in the world that is not registered with the government,” Kharge took a dig at the PM.
Kharge went on to say that he has pored through pages of the RSS mouthpiece Organiser and also through the history of India, and that if he knows more history of the RSS than many of the BJP legislators, that doesn’t make him an RSS affiliate, nor a fan of the RSS.
He once again attacked the RSS, saying that they don’t know their own history and ideology and when he questions the BJP about the RSS on the floor of the House, they are unable to answer.
“When I asked them, how did Veer Savarkar get that title, nobody answers me. They don’t know. They tell me, you tell us. When I asked them, why for 52 years you did not hoist the flag? They say they don’t know,” he said.
Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t…Read More
Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t… Read More
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