RSS "infiltrating" all sectors, alleges Mallikarjun Kharge
Bengaluru, Oct 6: Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said RSS was "infiltrating" all sectors including education and his long fight against the organisation cost him his Lok Sabha seat during the 2019 parliamentary polls.
"They (RSS) are infiltrating everywhere, even in education they are coming. Many officers are directly recruited, amending the rule and that much (people) are deprived of reservation...." Kharge said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said he has been fighting RSS and its ideology from the age of 15-16, and it is one of the reasons for his loss in 2019 Lok Sabha election from Gulbarga seat.
"We are fighting against RSS, we don't want to hide it. We will fight and that's why I lost my election also. RSS is not pro-poor, it is not for social justice. They believe in 'Manusmriti', he said.
The senior Congress leader was responding to a question on JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's statement referring to a book that RSS as part of its hidden agenda, has created a team of bureaucrats in this country, who are now placed in various institutions.
"In that book, it is said that about 4,000 civil servants in this country- IAS, IPS officers- are RSS karyakartas. They are trained to write exams. In one year, in 2016 alone, 676 people trained by them got selected," the former CM had claimed on Tuesday.
On the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Kharge demanded a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge to bring the facts out, and immediate release of opposition leaders who have been illegally detained.
Four of the eight dead in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.
The others including BJP workers and their driver were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish, but no arrest has been made so far.
Kharge sought to know why Ashish has not been arrested so far and why the Congress leaders were not being allowed to meet the victims' family.
He demanded Ajay Mishra's immediate dismissal from the union cabinet.
The veteran also accused Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra of 'instigating' people against protesting farmers, and demanded that they should be booked for sedition.
Condemning the detention of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Sitapur while on her way to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the family of victims, the Congress leader termed it as "illegal detention" and "crime". He stated that she was detained without any warrant or FIR, just on the basis oral instructions.
The place where Priyanka Gandhi has been detained has not even been declared as jail or sub-jail, he said. "Is this dictatorship? is there democratic values? Fear psychosis is being created and it is detrimental for the country," he added.
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TikTok restores service in the U.S. after Trump pledges to pause federal ban
TikTok resumed operations for its U.S. users on Sunday afternoon following assurances from President-elect Donald Trump to temporarily halt a federal ban on the app after his inauguration on January 20.
The app had faced a brief shutdown earlier in the day over “national security concerns,” with a federal order mandating its China-based parent company, Bytedance, to sever ties with its U.S. operations. However, the order allows a 90-day extension if a viable sale is in progress.
Trump, set to assume office in January, expressed a willingness to grant TikTok more time to comply with federal requirements. He suggested a joint venture in which the U.S. holds a 50% ownership stake, asserting that the app’s valuation could soar to "hundreds of billions or even trillions" of dollars.
“By doing this, we save TikTok and keep it in good hands,” Trump stated on Truth Social, his social media platform.
During his previous presidency, Trump had supported a ban on TikTok, citing security risks. His executive orders targeting Bytedance and WeChat were subsequently blocked by courts. However, Trump’s position on the app shifted during his recent campaign, as TikTok significantly boosted his popularity among younger voters.
Despite the announcement, the app remained unavailable on Google Play and Apple app stores. Uncertainty lingered as the U.S. Supreme Court had unanimously upheld the ban on Friday, enforcing it the day before Trump’s return to office
TikTok issued a statement confirming it was restoring service, thanking Trump for “necessary clarity and assurance” to its service providers. The app’s message to users declared, “TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
