‘Cong will never come to power, let them daydream…’: Nitesh Rane’s fiery response to Priyank Kharge’s ‘ban RSS’ remark

Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane on Thursday slammed Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge over his recent statement to ban the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), stating that Congress is never going to come to power.

“Congress is never going to come into power, let them daydream,” Rane said.

Congress leader Priyank Kharge on Tuesday slammed the RSS over their General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement demanding reconsideration of the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

Alleging that the RSS wants to “alter” the Indian Constitution, Kharge said that these are the same people who “staged a protest when the constituent assembly debates were going on and burned the Constitution”.

On being asked if Congress is thinking of banning the RSS, Kharge said, “We will see. It’s not the first time they have been banned, right? Didn’t Sardar Patel ban them? Then they went and fell at his feet. They pleaded no, no, we will follow the law of the land. After that, Indira Gandhiji banned it again. They went and said No, we will cooperate. We will abide by the laws of the land. There cannot be one law of the land for the rest of the country and for one organisation like this…”

According to an ANI report, earlier on Thursday, addressing a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale remarked that during the Emergency, terms like “Socialism” and “Secularism” were forcibly inserted into the Constitution, a move that needs to be reconsidered today.

BJP leaders hit back at Congress

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Mahesh Tenginkai hit back at Kharge as well, stating that the Congress does not even deserve to sit in the “opposition” and that Kharge should think before making such a statement.

The BJP MLA stated that his party will remain in power for the next 20 years and that no attention will be given to Priyank Kharge’s statement.

“Priyank Kharge should think once. BJP is PM Narendra Modi’s party, which will stay in power for 20 more years. Your party (Congress) will not be in power. It doesn’t even deserve to be in opposition…There is no need to give more attention to his statement”, the BJP MLA told ANI.

The Karnataka unit of the BJP slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge through a message posted on X. Stating that Kalaburagi, which has been “ruled” by Kharge for more than 50 years, remains one of the most “underdeveloped” parts of Karnataka.

“Priyank Kharge, a minister only because of his father’s influence, is now threatening bans like it’s 1975 all over again. The Congress’s alleged “President/High Command” Mallikarjun Kharge ruled the Kalaburagi region for half a century. Yet it remains one of the most underdeveloped parts of Karnataka”, the post said.

(With inputs from agencies)