By Khadija Irfan Rahim
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture spent a staggering Rs 76.13 lakh on advertisements for the 100-year celebration of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right to information (RTI) reply has shown.
Ajay Basudev Bose, an RTI activist, filed an application seeking details regarding the total amount spent by the Ministry of Culture for print advertisements commemorating 100 years of the Hindu nationalist organisation.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the reply issued by the government read.
The right-wing Hindutva volunteer paramilitary organisation was founded in 1925 and claims to be a body of individuals and not a registered group.
Addressing the “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons” event in Bengaluru, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat explained that because the organisation was founded before Independence, registering with the British government did not align with their principles.
“Do you know the Sangh was started in 1925? Do you expect us to be registered with the British government, against whom our Sarsanghchalak (KB Hedgewar) was fighting at the time? After Independence, Indian laws did not make registration compulsory,” he said.
This story was originally published in siasat.com. Read the full story here.
