Court lets Togadia enter UP

VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia was allowed to enter UP this afternoon following an Allahabad High Court directive tellin...

VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia was allowed to enter UP this afternoon following an Allahabad High Court directive telling the state to do so.

Togadia, who was detained at Gajraula Railway Station apprehending vitiation of peace and brought to Delhi by UP police earlier in the day, left for Hapur after the court delivered the order.

Opposition to Togadia visit in Jharkhand intensifies

RANCHI: The CPI-ML on Tuesday demanded a ban on VHP leader Pravin Togadia’s September 5 programme in Jharkhand, saying his speeches could play havoc with the state’s peace and tranquility. “The Opposition leaders, including its leader in the House Stephen Marandi of the JMM, are meeting tomorrow to chalk out an action plan to prevent Togadia from entering the state Capital on September 5,’’ CPI(ML)’s central committee member and state legislatorMahendra Singh told a press conference here. If the Arjun Munda government ignored the demand, there could be a possible showdown between party activists and the administration, Singh said. — PTI

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‘‘The state police had some hesitation in allowing me to enter UP from the Delhi border, but later they gave their permission. I am proceeding to Hapur first, and later today, I would be attending the Ram Sankalp Sutra programmes in Ghaziabad and Noida,’’ Togadia said en route to Hapur.

Earlier, the court gave permission to enter the state following an undertaking by the petitioner’s counsels V.K.S. Chaudhary and A.B. Saran that Togadia would not distribute trishuls at the function.

Directing the District Magistrate to maintain law and order at Gajraula in view of the function, Justice R.C. Deepak asked the state counsel to inform the district administration about the order.

Meanwhile, the Patna High Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on separate writ petitions filed by VHP leaders Togadia and Acharya Giriraj Kishore against their recent externment by the Bihar government, and asked the state government to file counter-affidavits on the matter within two weeks.