VHP demands new conversion laws

The VHP leader alleged that Christian missionaries were creating social discord in tribal areas, including the Dangs. If there was a land dispute between two brothers, one of whom had become Christian, the missionaries would back him against the one who had remained a tribal. "If their mother died, they would ask the Christian to insist on burial, even if she had not converted," he said.

The VHP, said Togadia, was being unfairly criticised for the recent attacks on Christians in the Dangs. "We have nothing to do with the Hindu Dharma Jagran Manch," he commented. Asked whether certain Manch leaders hadn’t been active in VHP programmes, he said: "Our programmes attract lakhs of people; how can we be blamed for what anyone of them may do?"

Neither the VHP, nor its youth wing the Bajrang Dal, had any presence outside the district headquarters of Ahwa. “Yet certain newspapers, including The Indian Express, were not only blaming them, but also ignoring the fact that the trouble broke out after Christians attacked peaceful Hindus," he said.

According to Togadia, the Manch rally, held on the Christmas day, was in fact,`a satsang’ and there had not been any provocative slogans, speeches or leaflets, but only "bhajan, kirtan and Ramdhun".

The VHP leader said that earlier, there had been an attack on some sadhus in the Dangs and a Hanuman temple was desecrated in Ahwa. So, when the `satsang’ was attacked, the people reacted. "An attack can be planned; the reaction is a spontaneous reflex action," he argued, adding that nothing happened at other places where similar satsangs were held on that day.

Togadia questioned the reported findings of the Central team which, after a visit to Gandhinagar, blamed the Manch for violence and the State government for mishandling the situation. Newspaper reports did not quote anyone, he said. On the other hand, Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya had stated that the trouble began when stones were thrown at the Manch rally.