The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday, urging him to “stop following Rahul Gandhi’s footsteps” after he suggested that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should be banned. The sharp counterattack followed Kharge’s comments linking most law-and-order problems in the country to the BJP-RSS combine, reigniting a long-standing ideological clash between the two political camps.

Kharge, speaking a day earlier, had alleged that the RSS was contributing to unrest in the nation and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insulted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s legacy by allowing government employees to be associated with the organisation. He insisted that the RSS’s influence in governance was undermining democratic institutions—a charge often repeated by the Congress leadership.

Responding to the remarks, BJP national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha accused Kharge of distorting Patel’s legacy and attempting to malign an organisation “committed to national interest.” He said that while the country celebrated Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Kharge chose to target the RSS instead of embracing the values the Iron Man of India stood for.

Also Read: SIR Threatens Matua Voting Rights, Prompting BJP-TMC Scramble in West Bengal

Sinha also invoked Kharge’s personal history, noting that the Congress president and his family had once experienced violence in the “Nizam area” when he was young. He suggested that this background should give Kharge greater clarity in identifying the “real enemies” of the nation, rather than attacking what he described as a patriotic institution.

The BJP leader concluded by warning Kharge against repeating Rahul Gandhi’s political approach, which the BJP often frames as overly confrontational and disconnected from national priorities. He called on the Congress chief to rethink his rhetoric and focus on addressing genuine threats to the country instead of “defaming” the RSS.

Also Read: #BiharPolls: Samrat Choudhary Declares “No Vacancy” for CM Post, Reaffirms BJP’s Support For Nitish Kumar