RSS procession permission applications must be submitted in the prescribed format before police authorities begin preparations, Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said as the organisation sought cooperation for Vijayadashami processions planned in Bengaluru and other parts of the state.
Kharge said a letter asking the police to cooperate and make the necessary arrangements would not by itself constitute an application for permission. He asked organisers to submit the required form, provide all requested information and wait for approval before conducting the processions.
The RSS has submitted letters to the station heads of Nandini Layout and Mahalakshmi Layout police stations, seeking cooperation for a Vijayadashami procession scheduled for October 25 in the Kamalanagar, Laggere and Chowdeshwari Nagar areas of Bengaluru. Similar letters have reportedly been sent to police stations in different parts of Karnataka for processions planned on the same day.
Posting copies of the letters on X, Kharge said there was a difference between informing the Home Department that a procession would be held and formally seeking permission for it. He said the government was not announcing a ban on the processions, but was reminding organisers that there was a prescribed procedure for applying.
The minister said the applications submitted by the organisation mentioned only “RSS” and did not provide details of the person submitting the request, the individual responsible for the event or the people expected to participate. He said organisers had previously been informed about the manner in which permission applications should be filed, but the letters submitted so far lacked addresses and other required details.
Kharge cited the annual report of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, which, according to him, stated that 2.21 lakh volunteers had taken part in processions across Karnataka in uniform on a single day during 2025–26. He said events involving large numbers of participants required advance planning by the police, including personnel deployment, vehicle arrangements, food arrangements and traffic regulation.
He added that such preparations involved staff availability and the use of public tax revenues. Organisations seeking permission for processions should therefore submit the designated application and fill in all the details requested in it, he said.
Kharge also said letters asking the police to “make preparations and cooperate” could not be treated as permission applications. According to the report, he added that police personnel were not required to begin preparations merely because an organisation had asked them to do so. The next step is for organisers to submit complete applications through the prescribed process and await the authorities’ decision.
