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BJP leader Ashok Gowda criticised Yathindra Siddaramaiah over his remarks and said the minister should focus on issues.
Backing Karnataka Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah’s recent criticism of the RSS, Hariprasad said he was offering his own interpretation of the organisation.
A political slugfest broke out between the BJP and the Congress after Karnataka Congress leader and KPCC president BK Hariprasad compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Taliban, saying that there was “no difference” between the three because they are unregistered organisations.
“There is no difference because it is an unregistered organisation. Jaish-e-Mohammed, Taliban, all these organisations are unregistered. There is no difference between Jaish-e-Mohammed, Taliban and RSS because all the three are not registered in this country,” he said.
Hariprasad further said that he was offering his own interpretation of the organisation and did not need to endorse statements made by others.
“I have given my interpretation about the RSS. I don’t need to endorse what others said,” Hariprasad said.
#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: On Kerala VC’s remarks on the Vande Mataram row, KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad says, “…He has rightly directed this at the RSS because they never sing Vande Mataram, nor do they sing the national anthem or hoist the tricolour flag…”He further… pic.twitter.com/1ieP05yopq
— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2026
His remarks came after Karnataka Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Monday attacked the RSS, describing the organisation as a “thousand-headed venomous snake” fueled by communalism and casteism.
“The RSS is like a thousand-headed venomous snake. It is filled with the poison of casteism, communalism and Manuvad. It is a snake that spits poison and seeks to poison the entire society. If we leave it unchecked, our society will be ruined and our country will also be harmed,” he said.
He also demanded that the RSS, BJP and Sri Ram Sena apologise to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over an alleged “shuddhikaran” ritual held at a venue in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, after Kharge addressed a public rally there.
The escalating verbal offensive coincided with sharp criticisms from Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge, who publicly challenged the legal status, asset transparency, and accountability of the century-old organisation.
Priyank Kharge questioned the legal and financial framework under which the RSS operates.
Responding to BJP general secretary BL Santhosh, Priyank Kharge said that the issue was not whether the RSS existed but whether it was accountable under a transparent legal framework.
He questioned who legally constituted the organisation, who owned its assets, in whose name its bank accounts were operated, how donations were received and accounted for, and where its audited accounts and statutory disclosures were available.
BJP Hits Back
BJP leader Ashok Gowda criticised Yathindra Siddaramaiah over his remarks and said the minister should focus on issues related to his Urban Development portfolio instead of targeting the RSS.
Gowda invited Siddaramaiah to visit RSS shakhas and claimed that thousands of volunteers worked for the organisation without expecting anything in return.
He also accused the minister of speaking about an organisation without understanding its work and said, “If I don’t know the subject, I should not be speaking about it.”
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18BJP leader Ashok Gowda criticised Yathindra Siddaramaiah’s remarks, stating that the minister should focus on issues.
Ask News18About the Author
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre…Read More
August 17, 2026, 12:32 IST
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