Belagavi is gearing up to host one of the major organizational meetings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh this week, with President Mohan Bhagwat and most of the organisation’s top national leadership expected to attend a three-day meeting to review its activities, set priorities for the coming year and discuss national issues.
The meeting of organizers of RSS units across the country is scheduled to begin on Friday at the Sangha Sadan near Kapileshwar Bridge. Along with Bhagwat, Sarkaryava Dattatreya Hosabale and Sah Sarkaryava Krishna Gopal are expected to participate, along with senior staff CR Mukunda, Arun Kumar, Ramdhat, Alok Kumar and Atul Limaye.
National office bearers, regional and state leaders, organizers of 32 affiliate organisations, All India Karya Vibhag Pramukhs and members of the RSS Executive Council are also expected to attend the conference.
According to leaders familiar with the preparations, the agenda includes the concluding phase of the RSS’s centenary celebrations, plans to expand urban shakhas with special focus on IT professionals, business communities and other working professionals, preparations for the organization’s 2026 training camps, and national themes including the upcoming population census.
The meeting will also examine organizational issues related to the RSS and its subsidiaries, review ongoing activities and determine the future course of the organization. Bhagwat is expected to stay in Belagavi for about a week.
The authorities took extensive security measures before the event.
Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Roshan has banned the use of drones and other aerial devices over locations where senior RSS leaders are scheduled to stay. An order issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Act, 2023 states that a two-kilometre radius area around three places will be considered a no-fly zone till July 14.
The order prohibits the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, drones, and gliders in those areas.
Officials said that the restrictions were imposed to ensure public security and safety. More civilian and reserve police personnel are also being deployed across the city.
The meeting is also scheduled to coincide with a scheduled demonstration of the Committee for the Protection of the Constitution.
District coordinator Maradi Jambiah Nayak said the committee will organize a protest march on July 8 from 10 am, starting near the Vadkaraya temple and ending at Ambedkar Circle, in support of Home Minister Priyank Kharge’s demand that the RSS be registered as an organisation.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Nayak said the RSS did not adequately answer the questions raised by Kharge. “Every association and organization must function within the framework of the Constitution, and the same rule applies to the RSS as well. Therefore, the association must register,” he said.
Another committee president, Somashekhara Santhamani, said the RSS workers carrying sticks were acting “like a paramilitary force”, raising concerns about internal unrest. He also claimed that the organization received large donations from abroad without providing accounts, and said registration was necessary to ensure transparency in its work.
