Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday asked the RSS to register itself, clarify its legal status and disclose its sources of funding, income, expenditure and assets, arguing that it must uphold transparency and constitutional accountability.
Congratulating the RSS on completing 100 years of existence, the minister wrote to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat requesting legal clarification on its organisational status.
Posting his letter to Bhagwat on social media platform ‘X’, Priyank said that an organisation that claims to have over 60,000 shakhas and crores of swayamsevaks across India and abroad must also uphold transparency, accountability and constitutional compliance.
Calling upon the RSS to use the occasion of its centenary not merely for celebration, but for constitutional introspection, Priyank said, “The best tribute it can pay to India in its 100th year is to register itself, disclose its activities and finances, pay all applicable taxes, and function as a transparent and accountable organisation within the framework of Indian law.”
The minister, who is the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, pointed out that according to the 2025–26 Karnataka report of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the RSS’s highest decision-making body, the organisation has 4,127 daily shakhas, 1,389 weekly milans and 60 monthly mandalis in the State.
He said the report also noted that the RSS had organised 2,194 Samajotsavas with 19.61 lakh participants and conducted 562 route marches involving 2.21 lakh uniformed participants across Karnataka.
The minister said that the RSS, with such an extensive organisational presence, especially when it involves regular public mobilisation, uniformed route marches and large-scale social outreach, cannot be treated as a private or informal arrangement. The activities of the RSS raise legitimate questions about legal status, accountability, financial transparency, public order, permissions, sources of funding and compliance with the Constitution and laws of India, he underlined.
He asked why the RSS should remain exempt if citizens, labour organisations, NGOs, trusts, temples and companies are expected to register, disclose and comply with the law.
“In this context, it is only fair and necessary that the RSS also comes forward and places the following information in the public domain: its legal status and organisational structure, details of its office bearers and authorised representatives, sources of donations, contributions and income, and details of expenditure and assets,” the letter said.
He asked the RSS chief to share whether applicable taxes are being paid in accordance with law, the legal basis on which its activities are conducted without formal registration, and the constitutional and statutory framework under which it claims the right to operate at such a scale without public accountability.
He sought details of permissions, authorisations and compliance mechanisms for public events, route marches, mass gatherings and other organised activities.
