'Why Should a Dalit Question RSS?': BJP MP's Remarks on Priyank Kharge Trigger Row

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Ramesh Jigajinagi triggered a political row on Thursday (June 18) after asking why "a Dalit person" should raise questions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Responding to Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge's demand for transparency from the organisation, Jigajinagi also said that "no one who has messed with the RSS has ever survived."

"Why does a Dalit person need to get involved with the RSS? That is my question, brother. Just stay peaceful and comfortable..." Jigajinagi, who is a Dalit himself, told a reporter who asked him to respond to Kharge's recent letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the outfit's legal status, funding sources and tax compliance.

Jigajinagi also said, "Is it the Home Minister's job to ask what this is or what that is? If you ask the public, they will tell you."

Kharge's letter to Bhagwat did not mention caste in any form, and only raised concerns related to transparency and public disclosures by the RSS, as also its tax status, all of which have been raised before. It also referred to the unequal situation wherein every individual, company and society must register in India, while the RSS does not.

Why should a Dalit Man (Priyank Kharge) question RSS? Those who have questioned RSS have been finished : BJP MP Ramesh Jigajinagi pic.twitter.com/5aEj3iDg89

— 👑Che_ಕೃಷ್ಣ🇮🇳💛❤️ (@ChekrishnaCk) June 18, 2026

Further, Jigajinagi proceeded to make both casteist and personal remarks about Kharge, who is also a Dalit.

When a reporter asked Jigajinagi about complaints about the RSS that it does not provide equal opportunities to Dalits, Jigajinagi said, "Listen to what I am saying. Because his [Kharge's] father worked hard in the Congress party, they made arrangements for him. He should earn a good name by doing work for the people. Anyone who gets caught up in a feud with the RSS will not survive. Thank you.

With that, Jigajinagi, who represents North Karnataka’s Bijapur in the Lok Sabha, left the press conference.

Jigajinagi has in the past criticised the BJP and RSS for its anti-Dalit stance. The seasoned BJP leader is currently in his seventh term in Lok Sabha.

Priyank Kharge's response

"Are these words of frustration from Ramesh Jigajinagi himself, who belongs to the Dalit community, because he has not been allowed entry into the RSS sanctum sanctorum?" Kharge asked in a post on X, sharing and responding to Jigajinagi's comments.

"Ramesh Jigajinagi has also warned that 'no one who has gone against the RSS has survived.' Is this something he said out of fear of the RSS, or did he say it to frighten me?" Kharge asked, adding, "Is the RSS a terrorist organisation? Does it eliminate those who question it?"

"Are these mocking words telling me that I, as a Dalit, do not have the qualification to question the RSS, which was formed to protect the interests of those people who have a mindset of social superiority?" he asked.

I fear only morality, not threats, because ours is Ambedkar's blood," Kharge said.

"ದಲಿತರಿಗೇಕೆ ಬೇಕು RSS ವಿಷಯ" ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ಸಂಸದರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ರಮೇಶ್ ಜಿಗಜಣಗಿಯವರು ನನಗೆ ಹೇಳಿರುವ ಮತ್ತು ಕೇಳಿರುವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ.

ಇದು ವಿವಿಧ ಆಯಾಮಗಳ ವಿಮರ್ಶಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ.
ದಲಿತ ಸಮುದಾಯದವರೇ ಆಗಿರುವ ರಮೇಶ್ ಜಿಗಜಣಗಿಯವರಿಗೆ RSS ಗರ್ಭಗುಡಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶ ಸಿಗದಿರುವ ಹತಾಶೆಯ ಮಾತೇ?

ಶ್ರೇಣೀಕೃತ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಮೂಲಭೂತವಾದವನ್ನು ನಂಬಿರುವ… pic.twitter.com/WmsnZuE3n9

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) June 18, 2026

Priyank Kharge's letter to Mohan Bhagwat

Kharge on Monday (June 15) shared the letter to Bhagwat dated June 13 on his official X account and said that in its centenary year, the RSS must responsibly abide by the Constitution and register, disclose, pay applicable taxes and function transparently.

In the letter, Kharge congratulates the RSS on completing 100 years of its existence and says that an organisation that claims to have over 60,000 shakhas and crores of swayamsevaks across India and abroad undoubtedly has a significant presence in public life and society.

“It is precisely because of this scale, influence and reach that the RSS must be held to the highest standards of transparency, accountability and constitutional compliance,” Kharge has written in his letter to Bhagwat.

Kharge added that according to the annual report for 2025-26 released by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision-making body of the RSS, the organisation has a significant footprint in Karnataka, with 4,127 daily shakhas, 1,389 weekly milans and 60 monthly mandalis.

Here is the full text of Kharge's letter.

Dear Shri Mohan Bhagwat ji,

My letter will reach you shortly. However, I thought it was important to draw your attention to this matter early.
——————————-

Firstly, congratulations to the RSS on completing 100 years.

An organisation that claims over 60,000 shakhas and crores of… pic.twitter.com/IZy4oeKdMp

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) June 15, 2026

Responding to the demand, Bhagwat called it politically motivated. He said the RSS functions openly, does not depend on government funding and has previously been recognised by courts and tax authorities as a "body of individuals" eligible for income-tax exemptions. He said that since the RSS had been banned in the past an the bans were lifted, it indicated that governments knew what it was about, the Hindu reported.

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