JABALPUR, 1 NOV 

Dattatreya Hosabale, General Secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has rejected Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's recent call for a ban on the organisation. 

Speaking at a press conference in Jabalpur, he questioned the rationale behind banning an entity "engaged in nation-building" and asserted, "The public has already accepted the RSS."

Kharge's comments, made earlier, attributed the current state of law and order in India to the RSS and the BJP. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to heed the principles of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and impose a ban on the RSS. “If the PM respects the views presented by Vallabhbhai Patel, this should be done. All the wrongs in the country and all law & order issues here are due to the BJP and RSS,” Kharge stated.

The controversy comes as the RSS marks its centenary, having been established in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. 

Hosabale also said Vande Mataram can unite society.

"Today, when the tendency to divide based on narrow-mindedness, such as region, language and caste, etc, is increasing, 'Vande Mataram' is the thread that can unite society," he said in a statement in Hindi.