RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat explains why the organisation isn’t registered, doesn’t pay taxes, and supports BJP

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday clarified why the organisation does not pay income tax.

Speaking at the “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons” lecture series, Bhagwat said, “The Income Tax Department and the court have noted that the RSS is a body of individuals, and hence, it is exempted from income tax.”

Addressing questions about the RSS’s registration status, Bhagwat added that the government did not make registration mandatory after Independence.


"Sangha started in 1925. Do you expect us to register with the British government? Against whom?... We were banned thrice. So, the government has recognised. If we were not there, who would they ban? And each time courts resolved the ban, they dismissed the ban and made RSS a legal organisation... Legally, factually, we are an organisation. We are not unconstitutional. We are within that constitution. Our legal status is within that constitution. So we need not register. Many things are there which are not registered. Even Hindu Dharma is not registered," Bhagwat said.

His clarification comes days after Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad questioned the organisation’s unregistered status and sources of funding.

Kharge had recently asked, “Where is the money coming from for this unregistered organisation? To stitch uniforms, conduct marches, buy drums and trumpets, build buildings—where is the money coming from? If you are unregistered, how are you getting the funds?”

He further alleged that the RSS avoided registration to remain outside the ambit of legal and financial scrutiny, saying,
“If they were registered, they’d have to pay taxes, comply with the Registrar of Companies, Society Registration Act, and NGO Act, and disclose details of domestic and foreign donations.”

Responding to the controversy, BJP leader and former Karnataka Deputy CM C.N. Ashwath Narayan defended the Sangh, saying that not every organisation is required to be registered.

Meanwhile, Bhagwat also spoke on the RSS’s political stance.

“We support policies, not people or parties. We supported the BJP because they wanted to build the Ram Temple. If Congress had done the same, we would have supported them too,” he said.

He further remarked, “Political parties don’t accept Sanghis; every door is closed for them—only the BJP opens its doors for the RSS.”