New Delhi, February 16 – Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) National Spokesperson Vinod Bansal criticised Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday for accusing the RSS of money laundering, alleging that he is part of a group that seeks to undermine Sanatan Dharma.
Speaking to IANS, Vinod Bansal said, “Priyank Kharge is part of the same group that aims to destroy Sanatan Dharma and is continuously engaged in efforts to eliminate Hindus, Hindutva, the saffron ideology, and Sanatan traditions. This is the same party that, before and during the Karnataka elections, claimed that it would ban the Bajrang Dal and also said it would build temples for Lord Hanuman. But in reality, they are only driven by a twisted mentality.”
He further alleged that the Congress leader was making such remarks for political gain.
“He is an important leader of the Congress, and he wants to compete with Rahul Gandhi by making such statements. But what he has said about the RSS makes one thing clear. The Congress itself has been involved in money laundering cases, and many Congress leaders are appearing in court. Many have even gone to jail,” Bansal told IANS.
He claimed that instead of introspection, the party was trying to gain publicity.
“Instead of looking within, they want to gain publicity. I would say to Priyank Kharge that there are many branches of the RSS. If he wants to understand them, he should visit,” he said.
Bansal further added, “But when you will go there, you will have to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram.’"
"You will feel uncomfortable because your leaders have opposed even saying ‘Vande Mataram.’ The Congress should come out of this mentality. Today, no one is ready to accept you," he said.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and BJP leaders engaged in a heated exchange over Kharge's remarks against the RSS, with both sides trading accusations over ideology and development issues.
The BJP leaders were reacting to Kharge's comments in Bengaluru on Sunday, in which he accused the RSS, the BJP's ideological fountainhead, of indulging in “money laundering” and questioned its source of income.
“It (RSS) has a network of more than 2,500 organisations… They take money from them. I am telling that these people are into money laundering,” Kharge alleged, while asking why the organisation remained unregistered and whether it was “above law or Constitution.”
Kharge said, "Nobody knows how RSS gets their money. More than 2,000 or close to 2,500 organisations are supporting RSS through so-called dakshinas domestically and internationally. And they've all been linked to RSS. Where are they getting money to lobby in the US?"
He further claimed, "Very clearly, the United States government revealed a document saying that RSS was lobbying for nation-building in the United States. Where are they getting all this money from? People of India need to know how this so-called cultural organisation is destroying the social fabric in the country; it is doing anything but nation building."