Puttur/Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified that the state government has not imposed any ban on RSS activities, asserting that the recent circular regarding the use of school and college premises applies to all organisations equally and does not mention RSS anywhere.
“The government has not banned the RSS. The circular simply states that any organisation must seek permission before conducting programmes on school or college premises. It doesn’t single out any specific group,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Puttur.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the same rule had existed earlier, during the 2013 BJP government under then CM Jagadish Shettar, and said the Congress government has only reiterated that order.
“When the BJP government issued such a rule, there was no objection. If they could do it, why can’t we? We have only restated what their government had already implemented,” he said.
Referring to former CM Jagadish Shettar’s denial, Siddaramaiah remarked that the education department had issued the 2013 circular under Shettar’s tenure.
“Jagadish Shettar now claims the department acted on its own, but the order was issued when he was the Chief Minister. It clearly restricted organisational activities in school and college premises,” Siddaramaiah asserted.
He further clarified that granting or denying permission to any group depends on law and order considerations.
“No organisation is automatically entitled to hold events in school or college premises. Permission will depend on the possible impact on peace and public order,” Siddaramaiah said.
The clarification comes amid a growing political debate over the use of public and educational spaces for RSS activities, following Priyank Kharge’s letter urging the Chief Minister to curb unauthorised RSS programmes across Karnataka.
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