A video of a press conference showing a few men sitting in front of a banner with the text "Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh Press Conference" is being shared on social media platforms.
In the press conference, those hosting can be heard speaking in favour of the Congress party. They also extend their support to Congress in the upcoming general elections.
Who shared it?: This video was shared by East Bangalore Congress Sevadal on their X (formerly Twitter) account.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.) We received a query about this on our WhatsApp tipline number.
What is the truth?: While this press conference was held by an organisation called Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), it is not the RSS led by Dr Mohan Bhagwat.
Another organisation by the name RSS was started in Nagpur by a social activist and former corporator Janardan Moon. He attempted to register his organisation under the RSS name, claiming that the other RSS is not a registered organisation. Hence, anyone can use the RSS name and register it.
How did we find out?: At first, we checked the social media handles of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, led by Mohan Bhagwat, to see if any statements or press releases in this regard had been published.
However, we did not come across any post that could prove this.
We also noticed the symbols and logos used in the banner where the RSS name was written in the viral video. They did not match the symbol used by the RSS (Mohan Bhagwat).
We could not find any use of the chakra symbol or the flag in any of the RSS's social media pages, posters or banners.
With a relevant keyword search, we came across the video of the press conference on YouTube by a social media news page called Aawaz India.
The video was uploaded with the title: "RSS supports Congress, creates uproar across the country | PC of RSS Chief Janardan Moon, Abdul Pasha"
Taking hints from this, we ran a another keyword search and found out that the press conference was held by another organisation that uses the RSS name.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times from 2017, a social activist and former corporator from Nagpur named Janardan Moon, had filed an application to officially register his voluntary organization called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the local charity commissioner.
Similarly, the Times of India reported in 2019 that Moon had moved the Bombay High Court to demand registration for his organisation with the RSS name. However, it was rejected.
The HC noted that an organisation with the same name already existed in India.
A local reporter from Nagpur also confirmed to The Quint that another organisation with the same name operated from Nagpur and is anti the RSS which is led by Mohan Bhagwat.
Right-wing portal and RSS mouthpiece Organiser Weekly posted the video of the alleged press conference on their X account and called it "fake RSS." However, they blamed the INDIA Bloc for this and termed it as "an attempt to confuse voters".
We have reached out to both the organisaitions and Janardan Moon for their input and the story will be updated when their response comes.
Conclusion: The video of the press conference is being shared on social media platforms with users mistaking it for the RSS-led by Mohan Bhagwat.
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