Chittapur Admin Permits RSS March With Conditions

Kalaburagi: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday disposed of the petition filed by the RSS convener of Kalaburagi in connection with the proposed route march in Chittapur town, after the local administration granted permission for the event to be held on November 16 with certain conditions.

During the previous hearing on November 7, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty submitted to the court that the request made by the petitioner for conducting a route march will be considered positively, keeping in mind the dates proposed by the petitioner along with the requests made by the other applicants as one one-time measure.

“The Chittapur administration had granted permission for the route march on November 16 with some conditions. The court took this into account. One of the conditions in the order issued by the administration was restricting the number of participants to 300 and band to 25. As per our request the court has allowed us to increase it to 50. Thus now the route march will be held with 350 people,” petitioner Ashok Patil told Deccan Chronicle.

“There is also a minor change in the route. We have agreed to cooperate with the administration. From the beginning, we have maintained that this is a taluk-level event and part of the RSS centenary celebrations. We are holding only a taluk-level event,” he added.

In a post on X Kalaburagi district in-charge minister and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge said that no organisation, irrespective of its stature, is above the Constitution or beyond the rule of law.

“Life is beautiful only when we bow before the Constitution. If we challenge it, life becomes difficult!

I believe the organisation RSS has now realised this truth. The RSS, which had been behaving as if the Constitution and laws did not apply to it, has now understood the power of the Constitution. All organisations and individuals must understand this and conduct themselves in accordance with law and discipline,” he posted.

He said that the RSS must hold its programme by accepting the norms set by the government and the Kalaburagi district administration, and strictly following the rules.

“There is no scope for any kind of over-smartness beyond this. Only 300 people are allowed to participate and the event must be held only at the locations approved by the government,” he said.

He added that outsiders from outside Chittapur are not permitted to take part and no untoward incidents should be allowed to occur.

“The RSS should respect the generosity shown by the government and the patience shown by the Kalaburagi district administration, and complete its programme accordingly,” he said ending the message with “Jai Constitution.”

Ashok Patil had approached the High Court on October 19 after the Chittapur taluk administration denied permission for the march as various other organizations had sought permission on the same day.

The proposed march in Chittapur had drawn attention as it falls within the home constituency of IT-BT and Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge, who had written to the Chief Minister urging curbs on RSS activities in public and government spaces.