Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Priyank Kharge Rejects RSS Role in Hyderabad Liberation, Slams BJP
Two grown-up leaders in India are having a big argument about something that happened a very long time ago.
They are arguing about who kept people safe when the old city of Hyderabad joined India in 1948.
A leader named Mr. Kharge says his family was protected by great leaders like Sardar Patel and by Indian soldiers.
Another leader, Mr. Santhosh, says a group called the RSS helped protect people.
Mr. Kharge says that is not true and that the RSS even caused problems.
Mr. Santhosh says the RSS is a good and trusted group even though it is not officially registered.
Mr. Santhosh also wants one big undivided India, which he calls 'Akhand Bharat'.
He says Hindus should stay the biggest group in India.
The two leaders disagree about history, heroes, and who deserves the credit.
People all over India are listening to their argument.
Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge rejected BJP leader B L Santhosh's claim that RSS workers had protected the Kharge family from Razakars during Hyderabad's integration with India.
Kharge said his family and the region were protected by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian Army, noting that Operation Polo in September 1948 was carried out by them, not the RSS.
Kharge alleged the RSS fueled communal tensions, citing Nathuram Godse's killing of Mahatma Gandhi and riots in Kolkata and Delhi, and questioned Santhosh's references to V D Savarkar and Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (INA).
B L Santhosh defended the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an organisation that was unregistered then and remains so now, saying registration does not determine its existence.
Santhosh invoked revolutionaries including Madan Lal Dhingra, Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, called for 'Akhand Bharat', and said Hindus must remain a majority because 'India must remain India'.
- Who
- Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge and BJP leader B L Santhosh
- What
- A dispute over whether RSS workers protected the Kharge family and Hindus from Razakars during Hyderabad's integration with India
- When
- Saturday, August 15, 2026
- Where
- Kharge spoke at a press conference in Kalaburagi; Santhosh spoke at an 'Akhand Bharat Sankalp Day' programme organised by Hindu Jagarana Vedike in Bengaluru
- Why
- Santhosh claimed RSS workers confronted Razakars and protected Hindus during Partition; Kharge rejected the claim, crediting Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian Army instead
Priyank Kharge — Rejects the RSS Claim
B L Santhosh — Defends the RSS Claim
RSS's role during Partition
Priyank Kharge — Rejects the RSS Claim
The RSS did not protect his family or the region; people were protected by Nehru, Patel and the Indian Army, and the RSS instead contributed to communal tensions.
B L Santhosh — Defends the RSS Claim
RSS workers confronted Razakars, protected Hindus, and stood by the Kharge family during Partition.
RSS registration
Priyank Kharge — Rejects the RSS Claim
Kharge demanded that the RSS be registered, questioning the status of an unregistered organisation.
B L Santhosh — Defends the RSS Claim
The RSS was not registered then and is not registered today; registration does not determine its existence as it works through the trust of millions of people.
Credit for liberation and freedom
Priyank Kharge — Rejects the RSS Claim
Operation Polo was carried out by Patel, Nehru and the Army, not the RSS; Savarkar reportedly urged people not to join the INA.
B L Santhosh — Defends the RSS Claim
Freedom was won by lakhs of revolutionaries and soldiers who put their lives at stake, not merely through the Salt Satyagraha or spinning the charkha.
- Disputants
- Priyank Kharge (Karnataka home minister) vs B L Santhosh (BJP leader)
- Central claim in dispute
- That RSS workers confronted Razakars and protected the Kharge family and Hindus during Partition
- Kharge's counterclaim
- His family was protected by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian Army
- Operation Polo
- Code name for the September 1948 Indian military operation integrating the princely state of Hyderabad with India
- Kharge family's refuge
- Gulbarga (now Kalaburagi), per Santhosh's claim
- Princely states integrated by Patel
- Around 560
- Venue of Santhosh's remarks
- 'Akhand Bharat Sankalp Day' programme by Hindu Jagarana Vedike, Bengaluru
- RSS registration status
- Not registered then or now, according to Santhosh