New Delhi, June 16 (IANS). The rhetoric on this issue has intensified after Karnataka government minister Priyank Kharge demanded to make public information about the registration, legal status and income and expenditure of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president Alok Kumar, defending the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on this issue, said that the Sangh follows all the laws of the country and the questions being raised regarding its registration have no legal basis.
Speaking to news agency IANS, Alok Kumar said that every organization in India should follow the law and as per his understanding, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is also fully following all the laws. He said that Priyank Kharge has raised the issue of registration of the association, but he should clarify under which law of India the registration of the association is mandatory. He said that in the language of Sangh law, there is ‘Association of Persons’ and there is no compulsion or compulsion for its registration in any law.
Responding to the questions raised regarding the income and financial transparency of the Sangh, Alok Kumar said that the court has already given its decision on this subject. He told that Gurudakshina is organized once a year in the Sangh and the contribution of volunteers received through it is the source of income of the organization. He said that the Sangh does not take money from outsiders; It runs only on the contribution of volunteers. In the years 1967-68 and 1975-76, the Income Tax Department officials had accepted that the income of the Sangh was taxable. The union had approached the High Court against this. In both the cases, the High Court ruled that the income of the Sangh was derived only from the contributions of volunteers and due to the principle of ‘mutuality’, income tax would not be applicable on it.
Alok Kumar further said that no objection was registered on this subject even during the ten years of the government led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He claimed that after the court’s decision, CDVT had also issued an order clarifying that Gurudakshina given by volunteers, on the basis of mutuality, is outside the purview of income tax.
Questioning Priyank Kharge’s comment, he said that I think Priyank Kharge should have checked the facts before doing cheap politics.
Let us tell you that Priyank Kharge had written a letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat demanding to make public the information related to the registration of the Sangh, its legal form and income and expenditure. After this, a period of political reactions has started on this issue.
–IANS
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