KPCC chief claims BJP, RSS leaders looted donations received at Ram Temple
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President BK Hariprasad
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president BK Hariprasad on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that they have “looted” the donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and are undermining India’s pluralistic ethos.
Addressing a seminar organized by the KPCC campaign committee at the party office here, Mr. Hariprasad said, “History tells us that Mahmud of Ghazni looted this country several times. But those who looted the temples today are RSS and BJP. They are deceiving people in the name of religion and God.”
Describing himself as a proud Hindu, Mr Hariprasad said he followed the Hinduism espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Narayana Guru, Kanakadasa and Basavanna and not that propagated by RSS ideologues like MS Golwalkar, Nathuram Godse and KB Hedgewar.
“The Hindu religion I follow believes in equality and harmony among all faiths. Secularism means that all religions should coexist with mutual respect,” he said.
Highlighting India’s diversity, Mr. Hariprasad said the country is home to several major religions, 22 scheduled languages and thousands of other languages and dialects. He accused the RSS and BJP of trying to erode this diversity through ideas like “one nation, one education, one leader and one religion”.
At the same time, Mr. Hariprasad said that the Congress would have no objection to the RSS if it accepted the Constitution, the tricolor, democracy and Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of equal respect for all religions.
“They (RSS) are not our enemies, they are our countrymen. But if they accept the constitution, democracy, national flag and the principle of secularism which form the basis of this country, we will not oppose them,” he said.
Referring to the upcoming elections to five municipal corporations in Bengaluru, Mr. Hariprasad said Congress workers should familiarize themselves with the background of BJP leader Ram Madhav, who has been tasked with the party’s civic poll campaign.
He alleged that during the elections, the BJP tried to divert attention by highlighting issues like Pakistan, halal, hijab and mangalsutra instead of addressing issues of governance. He also said that Mr. Madhav should answer questions about his reported meetings with Pakistani leaders.
Targeting Operation Sindoor, Mr. Hariprasad alleged that the NDA government had made contradictory statements regarding casualties among Indian soldiers. “The government initially claimed that no soldier died in Operation Sindoor, but Defense Minister Rajnath Singh later paid tribute to six soldiers. This raises serious questions about the government’s credibility,” he said.
Published – 02 Jul 2026 0:37 IST