Registration not mandatory, we are recognised as a body of individuals: RSS chief

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat clarified and said that RSS does not require registration, as it is ‘recognised as a body of individuals’.

Mr. Bhagwat was responding to repeated questions raised about the RSS not being registered, as discussed during an interaction in Bengaluru on Sunday.

“The RSS was established in 1925. Should we have registered with the British? After independence, the government did not make registration mandatory. But we are recognised. The Indian government has banned us thrice. What did they ban if we are not recognised? The courts have called us as a body of individuals. The Income Tax Department has exempted us from income tax,” he said.

Soon after, Priyank Kharge, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, Karnataka, who has been questioning the RSS as to why it is not registered, shot back on social media, saying that the RSS not being registered underscore a fundamental issue of transparency and accountability.

“When every religious or charitable institution in India is required to maintain financial transparency, what justifies the absence of similar accountability mechanisms for the RSS?,” he asked.

Forget caste

At the interaction, when asked about the issues with the caste system, Mr. Bhagwat said there was no caste system, but only caste confusion for concessions and for elections. “We need not put in efforts to eradicate caste. We need to forget caste, which can be done even at an individual level,” he said.

When asked whether Muslims and Christians are allowed to join the RSS, he said they were welcome but with one condition: that they should identify themselves as the children of Bharat Mata, as part of the larger Hindu society, and keep their separateness out. “Like many from what is regarded as Hindu society, Muslims and Christians also come to a shaka, but we don’t take a count of them. Neither do we ask the caste of any of our members. We are all Hindus,” he said.

Denying that the RSS was a political organisation, Mr. Bhagwat said that RSS never indulged in politics. “We support right policies. We do not have affinity towards any party. We support the party that implements the policies we think are right for the country,” he claimed.