IT-BT and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge will be invited to attend shakhas of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to help mould his character, BJP leader and MLC N. Ravikumar said in Mangaluru on Monday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should remove Mr. Kharge from the Cabinet for his statement against RSS, he said, adding that several family members of the Congress leaders funded the RSS.

Criticising Mr. Kharge for his letter asking the government to ban activities of the RSS in government institutions and on public premises, Mr. Ravikumar said Mr. Kharge’s letter showed a lack of his knowledge about the RSS. It also showed his utter disregard for the RSS, which has continued for over a century to serve the needy and mould character of youth.

Mr. Ravikumar said attending a shakha will give complete idea about the RSS which is a registered social organisation. He (Mr. Kharge) will also get information about the funding for RSS which includes family members of several Congress leaders.

Among the notable contributions of the RSS include rolling out persons like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. The service of RSS swayamsevaks during natural disasters and the pandemic cannot be forgotten.

The RSS conducts its programmes by securing due permission from the government authorities. Display of stick during the annual march programme was not to instil terror among people. The stick was symbolic of the capacity of people to fight against problems in the society, Mr. Ravikumar said.

Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath said by speaking ill about the RSS, Mr. Kharge and Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad were trying to impress Rahul Gandhi. But in doing so the two were losing their dignity in public. By attending RSS shakhas, Mr. Kharge will get to know how swayamsevaks devote their life for the cause of the country.

BJP Udupi district president Kuthyar Naveen Shetty said Mr. Kharge has made a fool of himself by writing a letter to Mr. Siddaramaiah seeking ban on activities of RSS, without understanding the work of organisation that has been involved in instilling patriotic fervour among people.