Published May 22, 2026 | 10:46 AM ⚊ Updated May 22, 2026 | 10:50 AM
The RSS has 20,000 active shakhas in Telangana. (Representational picture/Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the POCSO case against Bandi Sai Bageerath, the RSS distanced itself from the issue. The RSS objected to reports and discussions allegedly linking its Telangana functionaries to the controversy.
Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) case registered against Bandi Sai Bageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday, 22 May, distanced itself from the issue.
The Telangana unit of the RSS issued a strongly worded statement accusing sections of the media of dragging the organisation and its functionaries into the controversy through “false propaganda”.
Significantly, the RSS also sought to distance itself from the issue, calling it an “internal issue of the BJP” and stating that the Sangh had “no direct role” in the organisational or internal matters of the party.
Also Read: CM Revanth rejects Bandi Sanjay’s ‘surrender’ claim in son’s POCSO case
The statement, issued by RSS Telangana Prant Sanghchalak B Sundar Reddy, came at a time when the case against Bageerath intensified political tensions in the state and triggered sharp exchanges among the Opposition BRS, the ruling Congress, and the BJP.
The RSS objected to reports and discussions allegedly linking its Telangana functionaries to the controversy involving Bageerath, who was arrested last week in connection with a POCSO case after the Telangana High Court declined to grant him interim protection from arrest.
In the statement, the RSS specifically defended a few Telangana office-bearers, alleging that some media organisations were attempting to tarnish their reputation through “baseless and malicious” reports. The organisation asserted that RSS workers were engaged in selfless public service and warned of legal action if attempts to malign the organisation continued.
While Bandi Sanjay claimed that his son had voluntarily cooperated with investigators and described the allegations as part of a politically motivated campaign, the police and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy maintained that the accused had been apprehended during a naka bandi (blockade) operation.
During a press conference on Thursday, the chief minister also refuted allegations of delay in Bageerath’s arrest and other alleged procedural lapses in the sensitive case.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
