The move came after Minister Priyank Kharge urged the chief minister to act against the RSS holding events, meetings, and gatherings in educational institutions and other state-owned properties.
Published Oct 15, 2025 | 10:39 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 15, 2025 | 10:39 AM
File photo. (RSS official website)
Synopsis: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he has directed the Chief Secretary to study the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to restrict Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activities in government-owned spaces. While Tamil Nadu doesn’t have a formal policy implementing a complete ban on activities of the organisation, it does have a history of denying permissions to RSS processions in public spaces.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, 13 October, said he has directed the Chief Secretary to study the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to restrict Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities in government-owned spaces.
While Tamil Nadu doesn’t have a formal policy implementing a complete ban on activities of the organisation, it does have a history of denying permissions to RSS processions in public spaces. Some cases have even reached the court.
The move by the Karnataka government stemmed from a letter written by IT and Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge, who urged the chief minister to act against the RSS holding events, meetings, and gatherings in educational institutions and other state-owned properties.
The RSS held over 100 marches in Bengaluru as part of its centenary celebrations this month. The organisation had even scheduled marches from the Sameerapura Corporation Girls’ School Ground and the BBMP Ground behind Vidyavardhaka School, in Bengaluru, among other areas on Sunday.
For several years, Tamil Nadu governments, led by both the DMK as well as AIADMK, have come down harshly on the organisation for holding marches without prior police permission.
Earlier this month, on 2 October, police detained over 40 RSS members near Porur in Chennai for conducting a Guru Puja and a special Shakha training session at the Ayyappanthangal Government Higher Secondary School without prior permission, according to Chennai Police.
The RSS and the Tamil Nadu government have also been embroiled in legal battles over the latter denying permission to the saffron organisation for holding its annual marches.
It was scheduled to carry out one such route march on 2 October 2022 to mark Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. However, the DMK government denied permission, citing that the law and order situation was not conducive for large marches amid a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associate groups by the Union Home Ministry.
The RSS then approached the Madras High Court, which allowed the march. However, despite the court order, the state government denied permission to the RSS, citing law and order concerns.
The Sangh then approached the court with a contempt of court petition against the Home Secretary, the Director General of Police (DGP) and Superintendents of Police.
After hearing the plea, the high court directed the government to provide permission for the march on an alternate date of choice as may seem fit by the RSS, but with reasonable restrictions.
RSS rescheduled its march to 6 November 2022, but was allowed to conduct public marches at only three locations against over 50 places it had earlier sought.
For 23 other places, it was asked to carry out indoor processions as the high court, in its order, directed that the route marches must be conducted inside premises with compound walls.
Hence, it decided to postpone the march and challenged the high court order, stating that a public procession is an acceptable manner of exercising one’s freedom of speech and expression and that the state has a duty to permit the same. On 10 February, the high court ordered the police to give nod to the route marches and quashed the earlier order limiting the marches to premises with compound walls.
The bench noted that every lawful organisation enjoys a right to take out processions and hold meetings at public places, as those activities were within the constitutional scheme.
The state, however, approached the top court against the Madras High Court orders allowing the RSS to carry out route marches in the state. The top court too rejected the state’s appeal, questioning the Tamil Nadu government on the maintainability of its decision not to grant permission for similar route marches in the state that year. The marches, although delayed, were eventually held in April 2023.
Upon directions from the top court, the Tamil Nadu police submitted a proposal on guidelines for allowing route marches of the RSS. The guidelines bar the event from being held in congested, narrow areas and routes where important institutions such as hospitals, schools and religious places are located.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
