Bengaluru: Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge has asked the RSS to obtain formal police clearance for its Vijayadashami route marches in Bengaluru on October 25, arguing that letters notifying the authorities do not amount to permission.
In a post, Kharge shared two communications from RSS units in the city and asked whether they met the requirements for approval for the processions. The first informed authorities of a proposed march from the Apollo National School ground in Chowdeshwari Nagar, Laggere, and the second concerned a procession in Mahalakshmi Layout. Both notified the police of the routes and sought cooperation in making arrangements.
Kharge said the RSS should file applications in the prescribed format, furnish details and wait for approval. Pointing to the RSS's annual report for 2025-26, which said the outfit held 562 route marches involving over 221,000 uniformed participants across Karnataka, he said the police would need time to prepare, citing deployment, transport, food, traffic management and security.
The exchange is part of an ongoing face-off between the Congress government in Karnataka and the RSS over the organisation's legal status, funding and use of public property. In August 2026, the Cabinet cleared a Bill requiring prior permission for events and processions on government property. The Madras High Court had earlier allowed the RSS to hold route marches in Tamil Nadu on October 25 and November 1 after the state police rejected its requests, telling the police to help applicants meet procedural requirements rather than look for reasons to reject them. The Karnataka dispute is likely to sharpen in the coming weeks.