BengaluruOctober 17, 2025 07:42 AM IST
First published on: Oct 17, 2025 at 07:40 AM IST
THE KARNATAKA Cabinet Thursday decided to issue a Government Order (GO) to regulate the use of public properties, including educational institutions, “to prevent any trespassing”. The decision follows demands by the state’s Information Technology and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge to ban RSS activities such as ‘Shakhas’ at public places, aided as well as government-run schools and other institutions.
Addressing a news conference, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said, “The government will issue a GO regarding management of government properties and to prevent trespass at places such as schools and colleges and regulate them to ensure proper use.”
The regulations, he said, would apply for everyone and those wanting to make use of government properties will have to take permission to hold the programme. “A detailed GO explaining the modalities will be issued soon.”
According to the minister, the decision to regulate the use of public places was based on complaints and reports of violations. “It is not issued keeping in mind any specific organisation. Whoever is violating it the most will be affected,” Patil said, responding to a question on whether the order was issued to curb RSS activities as petitioned by Priyank.
The minister said there were laws regarding the use of public places but they were not clear. “To give clarity and to include some rules, we have decided to issue an order,” he said.
The GO will focus on public property management and preventing trespassing. The department owning the property will take a decision on granting permission for events and penalising the violators, Patil said.
The Cabinet decision comes days after Priyank wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking to ban RSS activities in government land and government-run institutions. The CM has asked the Karnataka Chief Secretary to assess how neighbouring Tamil Nadu implemented curbs on RSS activities.
The IT-BT Minister came under fire from opposition BJP following the petition, and was flooded with calls threatening and abusing him and his family members. The Karnataka police arrested one person from Maharashtra for issuing threats to the minister.
Priyank, meanwhile, doubled down on his demand to restrict RSS activities, maintaining that the organisation worked against the ethos of the Constitution. He penned another letter to Siddaramaiah, dated October 13, seeking directions from the government barring the participation of government employees in activities conducted by the RSS.
In the letter, he referred to the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021, which prohibited government employees from being members of any political party or organisation involved in political activities. He also demanded that the government issue a circular warning of disciplinary action against those who violate the rules.
On Thursday Priyank shared on X a 2013 circular issued by the then BJP government, restricting the use of school premises and attached playgrounds for educational purposes only. “This order was issued by the BJP government in 2013. Does the party not have awareness of the order issued by its own government, the rules it itself formulated? Or does this order not apply to the RSS,” he asked.
“School premises must be used only for activities concerning the syllabus, extra-curricular programmes, sports, physical education and exercise of the school students. Therefore, it is hereby directed that permission should not be given for any reason to hold non-educational events on school premises and playgrounds…,” the circular issued in 2013 stated.