Bhopal, June 17: The issue of the legal status, financial transparency, and public accountability of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has resurfaced following a letter from Karnataka’s Home Minister Priyank Kharge to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh has expressed his support for these inquiries, stating that no institution should be above accountability in a democracy.
Singh emphasized that these are the same questions he has raised for a long time, which remain unanswered. He recalled that on October 22, 2021, he had written to then-Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, demanding an investigation into the RSS’s registration, financial sources, income-expenditure, and tax compliance for greater transparency.
He questioned why the same rules of financial transparency and legal compliance do not apply to large organizations that engage in transactions worth millions, while all trusts, societies, NGOs, and political parties are held to these standards.
Singh also claimed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the RSS distributed millions of food packets and rations, yet the source of the funds used for this remains unclear.
On November 12, 2025, he wrote to Mohan Bhagwat to object to a statement that compared the unregistered status of the RSS to Hinduism. Singh remarked that it is inappropriate to equate any organization with Sanatan Dharma, asserting that the RSS cannot be considered synonymous with Hinduism.
In his letter, he raised several questions regarding the organization’s legal status, financial sources, income-expenditure, and tax compliance, which have yet to receive a response.
Singh reiterated that the questions raised by Priyank Kharge are related to the same issues he has long advocated. He clarified that this is not a matter of opposing any organization or individual, but rather a concern tied to the Constitution, the rule of law, and transparency.
Once again, Singh called for the RSS to register itself and publicly disclose its legal status, organizational structure, financial sources, income-expenditure, and tax compliance information. He stated that such a step would align with democratic values and transparency.
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