Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge has asked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to obtain formal police clearance for its Vijayadashami route marches in Bengaluru on October 25, arguing that letters notifying the authorities of the planned events do not constitute permission to hold them.
The communications notified the police of the proposed routes and sought their cooperation in making arrangements. “Now, when lakhs of you intend to march through Karnataka’s streets on single day at the same time, the Police Department has considerable preparations to make: deployment of personnel, transportation, food, traffic management, security arrangements and other logistics. BJP spokesperson S Prakash responded, citing a Madras high court’s ruling that allowed RSS route marches in Tamil Nadu. “Dear minister, hope you have read the Madras High Court observation. If you want to avoid such embarrassment, keep off RSS prog.
Pointing to the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha Annual Report 2025–26, which stated that the outfit conducted 562 route marches involving over 221,000 uniformed participants across Karnataka, Kharge said the police would need time to prepare. On October 16, the Madras high court permitted the RSS to conduct route marches across Tamil Nadu on October 25 and November 1 after the state police rejected the requests.
All of this requires planning, manpower and public resources,” he said. Just a suggestion,” Prakash said on X, responding to the minister. The court also told the police to help applicants meet procedural requirements instead of looking for reasons to reject requests. The court also told the RSS to submit applications well in advance.
