Following a month-long controversy, the RSS Sunday held a route march at Chittapur in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district.
Though the march was initially scheduled to be held on October 19, the taluk administration denied it permission as it clashed with another march scheduled by Dalit organisations.
Sunday’s march, marking the RSS centenary year, lasted around an hour and saw the participation of around 300 people.
On Friday, following multiple meetings with RSS and Dalit groups, the Karnataka High Court permitted the Sangh to hold the march between 3 pm and 5.30 pm. Though the court restricted the number of participants, the row drew RSS supporters from neighbouring regions. Police stepped up security along the route to prevent any untoward incident.
After the taluk administration denied permission for the October 19 march, the RSS had said that it would hold it on November 2. The court then directed the Kalaburagi district administration to mediate between RSS and Dalit groups. A peace meeting on October 28 failed, after which the High Court asked the Advocate General to secure a truce.
The decision to deny permission for the RSS march had triggered a controversy as it had coincided with the guidelines issued by the state government regarding use of government-owned properties for events held by various groups. The guidelines were issued shortly after Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge — who represents Chittapur Assembly constituency — wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking curbs on RSS activities in the state.
Following this, Kharge came under attack from BJP and right-wing groups, even as he intensified his attack against the RSS for not registering itself and failing to disclose the sources of its funding.
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On Sunday, Kharge told reporters that he was not against RSS holding a march but wanted it to take permission before it did so. Earlier they insisted that they would hold it on a specific date, he said, accusing the RSS of not following norms. “Once the noise over Bihar polls subsides, I will reveal how they avoid Income tax in the coming days,” he said.