New Delhi (PTI): After Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the RSS for its role in nation-building, the Congress reminded him on Wednesday that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had said at the time that the Sangh's activities created an atmosphere that led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The PM has spoken much of the RSS this morning. Is he even aware of what Sardar Patel wrote to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on July 18, 1948?"

He shared extracts from a letter written by then Home Minister Patel to Mookerjee, in which he had said, "As regards the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha, the case relating to Gandhiji's murder is sub-judice and I should not like to say anything about the participation of the two organisations, but our reports do confirm that, as a result of the activities of these two bodies, particularly the former, an atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy became possible....

"The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of government and the State. Our reports show that those activities, despite the ban, have not died down. Indeed, as time has marched on, the RSS circles are becoming more defiant and are indulging in their subversive activities in an increasing measure...."

In another post on the microblogging website, Ramesh said, "Sardar Patel addressed a massive public gathering in Jaipur on Dec 19, 1948, and spoke forcefully on the RSS. Here is a report carried in the Hindustan Times the next day.

"It is our determined resolve that we will not allow RSS or any other communal organisation to throw the country back on the path of slavery or disintegration," Patel was quoted as saying in the newspaper report while addressing a gathering at Jaipur's Gandhinagar.

Modi lauded the RSS on Wednesday and said the organisation never displayed any bitterness despite several attacks on it as it continued to work on the principle of nation first.

Participating in the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) here, the prime minister highlighted the organisation's contribution in nation-building.

"The Sangh has fought against the atrocities of the British. Its only interest has always been love towards the nation," he said, adding that RSS volunteers gave shelter to freedom fighters and its leaders were also jailed during the struggle for independence.

The prime minister said there have been numerous attempts to crush the spirit of the RSS by levelling allegations and registering false cases against the organisation.

"The RSS has never been bitter, despite attempts to make false cases against it, attempts to ban it and other challenges, because we are part of a society where we accept both the good and the bad," he said, in an apparent reference to the ban on the Sangh after Gandhi's assassination.

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Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.

Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.

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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.

On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.

Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.