Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has categorically denied allegations that his government in 2013 had issued any order restricting RSS activities in public or school grounds, calling the claim “a complete misinterpretation of an old departmental clarification.”
Shettar’s response came after Minister Priyank Kharge cited a 2013 education department note to justify recent restrictions on public events, including an RSS programme in Chittapur, which was reportedly not allowed. Kharge had recently written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging a ban on RSS activities in public places and school premises, following Shettar’s earlier letter demanding similar restrictions on unauthorized RSS events.
Speaking to the media at his residence in Hubballi on Sunday, Shettar clarified:
“When I was the Chief Minister in 2013, no such proposal ever came before my Cabinet. The Education Department had issued a clarification related only to the use of school premises for academic purposes, not a general order banning RSS activities.”
He accused the current government of twisting departmental correspondence for political motives.
“This was never a Cabinet decision or an order issued by the Chief Minister. It was a departmental clarification saying school grounds should be used only for educational and sports purposes. Now, misusing that as a rule to ban RSS activities is a distortion of facts,” Shettar said.
Referring to the recent suspension of a PDO in Kalaburagi district for attending an RSS event, Shettar slammed the state government for “acting without constitutional authority.”
“The state government has no power to ban officials from participating in RSS events. Even the Central Government, which once had restrictions in 1966, withdrew them later. After 2014, government employees are free to participate in RSS activities. So, what right does the Siddaramaiah government have to suspend anyone?” he questioned.
Shettar warned that targeting the RSS could politically backfire on the Congress.
“Siddaramaiah and his ministers are playing with fire. By misusing power to harass officials and block RSS programmes, they are going against democratic principles. This will not end well for them,” he said.
The remarks come amid a wider political row in Karnataka over permissions for religious and ideological events, after Priyank Kharge’s call for restrictions on RSS gatherings in public places and Shettar’s counter-criticism of the government’s “selective targeting.”
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