Karnataka HC Allows RSS Route March In Chittapur On Nov 2 | Major Setback For Congress

Karnataka HC Allows RSS Route March In Chittapur On Nov 2: In a blow to the Congress-led government in Karnataka, the High Court on sunday did the unthinkable ...it allowed the RSS to go ahead with its route march in Chittapur on Nov 2.

The court was dealing with a petition filed by Ashok Patil ,convenor of RSS Kalaburagi who was at his wits end over the authorities inaction on granting permission to hold the march in Chittapur on sunday.

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While listening to Patil's case ,Justice MGS Kamal asked the state government point blank how they planned to sort out the mess, while observing that after all we all need to respect everyone's feelings.

Other Organisations Got The Same Treatment

The court also noted that the authorities in Chittapur had given the cold shoulder to permission to groups like the Bhim Army and the Bharatiya Dalit Panther too , citing possible law and order issues that could come up with simultaneous rallies and processions by these outfits as well.

In fact the argument by Patil's lawyer was that all the officials queries had been covered, and that he pointed out that similar processions had been carried out elsewhere in the state without any problems.

During the hearing Patil actually agreed to push the date back to the 2nd of Nov instead and the high court then directed him to put in a fresh application with all the details required to the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi and asked the authorities to give it a fair hearing and get back to the court by the 24th of October.

'Clashes Could Happen'

Earlier, a police report had highlighted that simultaneous rallies in Chittapur on sunday by the RSS, the Bhim Army, and the Bharatiya Dalit Panther could lead to clashes and there would be trouble for public peace.

The report also said that a recent incident involving an RSS activist allegedly verbally abusing and issuing a death threat to Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge had already heightened tensions in Chittapur which is his constituency.

Earlier there were quite a lot of tensions kicked up when installation of saffron flags and banners as part of the RSS event preparations went up in town and the authorities had to take action and clear the flags on friday under the excuse that there was no official permission.

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Govt Order Has Permits in Its Sights

But that's not all! The state government too on Saturday issued an order making it mandatory for all private orgs , assns or a group of persons to get a permit before they can use government property or premises.

When critics said that the order was specifically targeting the RSS , Chief Minister Siddaramaiah got up and clarified that his government was not going after the RSS.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said , "Look we made a rule that all orgs must get permission . That rule was made by the BJP govt led by Jagadish Shettar. We just repeated it. When that rule was framed by the BJP why didnt they do anything ? Why did they not speak out against it?"

When asked if his govt was targeting the RSS , Siddaramaiah shot back " We are not targeting RSS. This rule is for all private orgs. BJP is always playing politics ;they dont do anything for the poor and they carry on with their politics."

BJP Praises High Court Verdict

Karnataka BJP leader, Vijayendra Yediyurappa, praised the court decision, noting that it upheld the Constitution.

"Those who attempted to ban the RSS sanchalan in Chitapur have faced humiliation. Today's court verdict sends a clear message that there is no room for authoritarian rule in a democratic system and has taught a fitting lesson to those who loudly proclaim their commitment to the Constitution in broad daylight," Yediyurappa said.

Prior, he slammed the Congress party for stating that the refusal to allow the RSS event recalled the dictatorial practices of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

In a post on X translated from Kannada, Yediyurappa said, "It seems that Minister Priyank Kharge holds deep admiration for the dark history of the Congress Party, which once imposed Emergency on the country. This is perhaps why he is attempting to recreate an Emergency-like administration in Kalaburagi district, using Chittapur as a testing ground."

"In blatant mockery of Dr BR Ambedkar's vision of the Constitution and democratic governance, a suffocating environment has been created in Chittapur. If the conditions imposed for granting permission to RSS' route march and program were to be applied across the state, it would become impossible to conduct any cultural or patriotic event anywhere in Karnataka," he added.

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