Yathindra further alleged that the RSS, much like the Taliban, seeks to impose a single, rigid interpretation of religion.
Published Oct 14, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 14, 2025 | 3:45 PM
Yathindra Siddaramaiah.
Synopsis: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, courted controversy on Monday by likening the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh to the Taliban. He also called for restrictions on the RSS and its activities, including requiring it to become a registered body.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, courted controversy on Monday, 13 October, by likening the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) to the Taliban.
“What is the Taliban mindset? Theirs is also the same, isn’t it? In religion, they want a single view. In Islam, they want a particular point of view. They give a diktat that Islam should be like this. They put restrictions on the freedom of women. RSS also behaves in a similar way,” Yathindra alleged.
He also called for restrictions on the RSS and its activities, including requiring it to become a registered body. The chief minister’s son, also an MLC, made these comments at a time when Taliban leader and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is in India for a State visit.
Yathindra further alleged that the RSS, much like the Taliban, seeks to impose a single, rigid interpretation of religion.
“They (RSS) also want Hinduism in a particular way. In Hinduism, people have options to follow according to their beliefs. But, they want to restrict Hinduism in just one particular way,” he said.
A day earlier, Karnataka Electronics, IT/BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge wrote a letter to the chief minister, calling for a statewide ban on RSS activities in government institutions and public premises.
He had alleged that the RSS was indulging in sloganeering and instilling negativity in the minds of children and youngsters, which is against the Constitution.
Yathindra backed Kharge’s request, calling for restrictions to be imposed on the organisation.
The MLC, however, is not the only one within the Congress party to have drawn parallels between RSS and Taliban. On Sunday, MLC BK Hariprasad described the RSS as the ‘Indian Taliban’ and told reporters the organisation had been running shakhas in the state without permission from the police.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
