'Will fight tooth and nail if any word is touched in Constitution': Mallikarjun Kharge slams RSS leader Hosabale

'RSS claim to be the champions of the Hindu religion. If so, they should remove untouchability and work towards keeping India united', Kharge said.

Bengaluru: AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday slammed RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale for questioning the presence of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the preamble of the Constitution.

“Dattatreya Hosabale is a man of Manusmriti. He doesn’t want the people from poor classes to come up. He wants to continue what he’s (they’ve) been practising for thousands of years. That’s why he doesn’t like socialism, secularism, liberty, equality and fraternity. RSS is always against the poor people, the scheduled castes, the downtrodden and other communities,” the AICC president told reporters.

Kharge, one of the tallest Dalit leaders in the country, sought to know why the RSS wasn’t 'removing' untouchability.

“They claim to be the champions of the Hindu religion. If so, they should remove untouchability and work towards keeping India united. Instead of that, simply talking, making noise and creating confusion in the country is very wrong and we are against it”.

“If they are going to touch any word in the Constitution, we will fight tooth and nail,” Kharge asserted.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge hinted at banning the RSS if the Congress came to power at the Centre.

“We have opposed the ideology of the RSS in the past also and had banned them two-three times. Lifting the ban was our (Congress’) mistake. They fell at our feet, saying they won’t indulge in anti-national activities. There are documents for this. Let’s see when our central government comes to power,” he told reporters.

Claiming that there was an “allergy” in RSS about secularism, equality and equal opportunities for all, he said: “What’s wrong with the words secular and socialist?? Ask them to read history, constituent assembly debates. They were not part of any history or struggle. They are just trying to create their own history”.