AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday, 19 July 2026, sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had donated over ₹668 crore of public money to 20 Sangh-linked organisations over a decade — even as the RSS describes itself as a purely cultural body.

Context

Owaisi's post was prompted by remarks attributed to Prime Minister Modi, who reportedly called the RSS 'the world's largest NGO.' The Hyderabad MP pushed back sharply, writing: 'But this NGO which claims to be a cultural organisation has received over ₹668 crore of your money.' He added that the RSS 'was banned twice, and had given undertakings that it'll avoid politics,' calling the donations 'shameful.'

The allegation centres on ONGC, a central government public sector undertaking and one of India's largest companies by revenue. Corporate donations by PSUs to voluntary organisations fall under scrutiny because such companies are ultimately accountable to the public exchequer.

Policy Backdrop

The RSS was founded in 1925 and has historically described itself as a cultural and social-service organisation. It was banned twice by the Indian government — first in 1948 following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, and again during the 1975–1977 Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. On both occasions, the organisation provided formal undertakings to refrain from political activity before the bans were lifted.

Under the Companies Act, 2013, public sector undertakings are required to spend a portion of profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Critics argue that channelling such funds to organisations ideologically aligned with the ruling dispensation blurs the line between state resources and political patronage. Opposition parties have periodically raised this issue through parliamentary questions and Right to Information (RTI) filings.

Stakeholders and Impact

Indian taxpayers, as the ultimate owners of public sector enterprises, are the primary stakeholders in any debate over PSU donation practices. If the figures cited by Owaisi are borne out by official records, they would represent a significant allocation of public-enterprise funds to a single ideological ecosystem over ten years.

For the RSS and its affiliated organisations, the controversy raises questions about the consistency between their self-description as a non-political cultural body and their receipt of funds from state-controlled companies. For the BJP-led government, the charge feeds a broader opposition narrative about the use of institutional machinery to benefit aligned organisations. AIMIM and other opposition voices have long argued that such funding patterns undermine the constitutional principle of state neutrality.

What's Next

Owaisi's post is likely to intensify demands for a detailed parliamentary audit of PSU donations to voluntary organisations, particularly those with ideological affiliations. CAG observations and RTI disclosures on ONGC's CSR spending could become focal points in the next session of Parliament. If opposition parties formally table the issue, the government will face pressure to either defend the donations on CSR merit or tighten guidelines on permissible beneficiaries of PSU funds. The episode underscores a recurring fault line in Indian democracy: the contested boundary between state resources, corporate philanthropy, and organised ideological movements.