Open season in the Sangh: VHP twists the knife too

For the Sangh Parivar, it’s time not to come to the aid of the government. So if the RSS opened the swadeshi front to slam the Governme...

For the Sangh Parivar, it’s time not to come to the aid of the government. So if the RSS opened the swadeshi front to slam the Government today, the VHP spouted its shrill rhetoric urging the Government to declare war against Pakistan to prove its credentials.

This comes just days after BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu’s statement that the VHP stand not only undermines the campaign against terrorism but could give the world a handle to equate India with religious fundamentalism.

However, both VHP president Vishnu Hari Dalmia and general secretary Praveen Togadia couldn’t care less saying governments could be ‘‘sacrificed’’ for ‘‘national unity.’’

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In an interview to Aaj Tak, Togadia denied that he had questioned the Prime Minister’s integrity but added: ‘‘I only said that he has been unable to fight terror. He should break Pakistan into 40 parts. If the government allows us (VHP), we will go with guns to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.’’ And added: ‘‘Jo Hindutva ki baat karega, wahi desh me raj karega.’’

Denying that the VHP had anything to do with the carnage in Gujarat, Togadia said: ‘‘We never attacked any religion, only the spread of terror in the name of jehad and Islam. Because of pressure from people like you, the leaders in Delhi are unable to fight terror.’’

On Ayodhya, too, he contradicted the BJP chief’s statement that there could be no resolution that contradicts law or causes a confrontation. ‘‘The courts cannot decide the Ram Mandir issue. Does democracy mean that you play around with the sentiments of the majority? A Hindu can never be communal.’’

Echoing this refrain, Dalmia said at an anti-terrorism rally at Rajghat: ‘‘We have reached a point where there is no option left other than an all-out war against Pakistan and mere bhashan-baazi (rhetorics) won’t do…What happened after the Parliament attack? After much-hyped war preparations, nothing followed.’’

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