Following meetings between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Chittapur local administration as directed by the Karnataka High Court, a proposed RSS route march in Chittapur is set to take place on November 16. The proceedings before the court, which concluded on Thursday, were overseen by a bench of Justice M G S Kamal of the Kalaburagi bench.
RSS marches proposed across the state to commemorate the organisation’s centenary have been a locus for political controversy, with Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge objecting to RSS functions being conducted on government property. Chittapur falls within his legislative constituency. The RSS had originally sought to hold this march on November 2, but two other groups–Bhim Army and Dalit Panthers–had also sought permission for marches on the same time and route.
The tahsildar then denied permission for all the groups citing law-and-order risks. When the matter came before the high court, Justice Kamal on successive hearings directed the RSS petitioner–the organisation’s Kalaburagi district convenor, Ashok Patil–to apply afresh for permission. Directions were also issued for meetings between the district administration and prospective holders of marches (whose number finally amounted to 11, including the RSS) on October 28 and November 5. After the meeting on November 5 went well, according to both sides, the administration sought time until Thursday to set dates for the proposed marches.
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During Thursday’s hearing, senior advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Patil, suggested that the permitted number of marchers (300) and band members (25) could be doubled as a one-time measure, citing the fact that it was the occasion of the RSS’s centenary. Advocate-General Shashikiran Shetty stated that the number of marchers had been fixed considering similar marches held by the RSS in the past, but acceded to the request for the increase in the number of band participants. The court then modified the number of participants in the permission.
The RSS route march is thus set to have 300 participants accompanied by a 50-member band.
With the conclusion of the Chittapur dispute, proceedings against a government order restricting gatherings of 10 or more people without permission, dated October 18, are ongoing. This order was promulgated against the backdrop of the proposed RSS route marches. After petitioners, including an organisation known as the Punashchetana Seva Samsthe, approached the court, Justice M Nagaprasanna granted a stay on the government order until the next hearing on the matter.
A subsequent appeal to a division bench of the high court against this stay was not successful.