Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that in his personal opinion the RSS should be banned as most law and order problems in the country are arising because of the BJP-RSS.

He also charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insulted the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by allowing government employees to be associated with the Sangh.

Kharge hit back at Prime Minister Modi after he attacked the party on Patel’s birth anniversary, and cited Patel’s remarks criticising the RSS following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

Responding to a question on banning the RSS again, Kharge said, “It is my personal opinion and I will say it openly, it should be done” as most of the issues and law and order problems are all arising because of the BJP-RSS.

He said what Patel put forth before us, the prime minister and Home Minister Amit Shah should pay heed to them.

Asked about government lifting the ban on government employees associating with the RSS, Kharge said when Patel himself banned the RSS, “then naturally he is disrespecting our Vallabhbhai Patel ji, who himself gave all the reasons why he banned the RSS and there is no ambiguity.”

The Congress chief said Patel wanted to bring in unity and peace and he fought for it.

“But after bringing unity in the country, anyone who tries to break that unity should be taught a lesson. And, you know who are those people who are breaking that unity,” he said.

Asked further if this would create an atmosphere of disunity, Kharge said, “I clearly feel that something which had ended, this government has revived that and these people will be responsible for whatever happens in the country”.

He said till 2024, nothing happened and now that it is not good for the country to once again “awaken the people”.

“This is not good for the country and it is like tasting poison, whose result is certain death. There is no need to taste poison once again. The things being done by Modi ji are not good for the country,” he said.

Noting that today is the birth anniversary of Patel and death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, the Congress president said these two great leaders –“ “iron man” and “iron lady” — made a big contribution to the country and strived to maintain unity.

This is the history of the Congress and its contribution, Kharge said at a press conference here.

Kharge cited a letter written by Patel to Syama Prasad Mookerjee in which the then home minister said the RSS had created an atmosphere that led to the tragedy of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

They always tried to portray a rift between India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Patel when they had great ties and both had praised each other, Kharge said.

Nehru hailed Patel for shaping India’s unity and Patel called Nehru an ideal for the country.

Kharge recalled a letter written by Patel to Mukherjee on February 4, 1948, in which he said, “On Gandhiji’s death, the RSS members expressed such joy and distributed sweets, which further intensified the opposition. In these circumstances, the government had no choice but to take steps against the RSS.”

“While writing this letter to Mukherjee, he said — The report proves that the atmosphere created in the country due to the activities of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha is what led to Gandhiji’s assassination.”

Kharge’s remarks came after Prime Minister Modi said Sardar Patel wanted to unite the entire Kashmir, just as he did with other princely states, into India, but then PM Nehru did not allow it to happen.

Slamming the Congress, Modi said that the party inherited the slave mentality from the British who ruled India. The country is removing every trace of colonial mindset, he added.

Earlier on Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Kharge paid him tributes and said he is a source of inspiration for them as he described him as “the great Iron Man of India” who wove the entire nation into the thread of unity and integrity.

“Pandit Nehru called him the ‘Architect of India’s unity’,” he said, adding that Patel was former Congress chief and the resolution on fundamental rights passed in the Karachi Congress under his leadership is the soul of the Indian Constitution.

“Sardar Patel Saheb resides in our hearts, and his ideas, which emphasise mutual harmony and brotherhood, are an inseparable part of the Congress party’s ideology,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also paid rich tributes to the country’s first home minister.

“By weaving India into a single thread, he laid a strong foundation for the unity and integrity of the nation – his indomitable courage, foresight, and ideals will forever guide us,” Gandhi said.

Born in Nadiad, Gujarat, in 1875, Patel was a pivotal figure in India’s struggle for Independence. He died in 1950.

—PTI