Facing RSS Backlash, Karnataka Govt May Drop Bill Regulating Public Space Use

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 14:26 IST

The Congress government in Karnataka faced criticism over the bill but other private entities also raised concerns regarding regulation of public spaces usage.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers participate in a Path Sanchalan programme to mark the organization's centenary year, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (IMAGE: PTI)

Amid backlash from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and after several cabinet ministers raised concerns that a proposed bill regulating public spaces could affect not just the RSS but other private organisations as well, the Karnataka government may drop the order to regulate the use of state-owned properties by private entities, sources told CNN-News18.

According to sources, the draft of the “Regulation of Use of Government Premises and Properties Bill, 2025" will now be sent “to cold storage." The government, they added, will likely rely on existing administrative orders to manage how permissions are granted to private organisations seeking to use government properties.

The Congress-led government had earlier maintained that the bill required more inter-departmental consultations and feedback. However, sources said that after a review of the draft, the plan to push the legislation forward has been “sent to the cold storage".

The draft bill, accessed by CNN-News18, proposed imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of ₹50,000—or both—for violations. Repeat offenders could face imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of ₹1 lakh.

The proposal came shortly after the RSS held route marches and centenary events across Bengaluru on October 11. Days earlier, on October 4, state IT and Biotech Minister Priyank Kharge had written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging him to ban RSS activities on government-run premises, arguing they were “contrary to India’s unity and the spirit of the Constitution."

“We cannot control any organisation, but from now on you cannot do whatever you want in public places or roads. Whatever you have to do, it has to be done after seeking the government’s permission," he had written.

“An organisation called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been conducting its shakhas in government and government-aided schools, as well as in public grounds, where slogans are shouted and negative ideas are instilled in the minds of children and youth".

BY Vijayendra, the state BJP chief, hit back by sharing a photograph of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge — Priyank Kharge’s father — attending preparations for the RSS Samarasata Sangama in Bengaluru’s Nagawara in 2002, when he was the state home minister.

It should be noted that the government order issued on October 18 did not directly mention the RSS.

The bill also made headlines earlier this month after a cook at a Karnataka government hostel, employed on contract, was allegedly suspended for participating in an RSS event.

News politics Facing RSS Backlash, Karnataka Govt May Drop Bill Regulating Public Space Use

Read More