VHP dissociates itself from SJM

NEW DELHI, JAN 2: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and its militant Hindu arm, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, today disassociated themselves from the recent outbreak of violence in Gujarat.

Observing that it had nothing to do with the Hindu Jagaran Manch, which had been indicted by the Home Ministry for its role in the Gujarat flare-up, VHP senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore today asked the Union Government to set up a three-member committee under the chairmanship of a High Court judge, either retired or serving, to look into these incidents.“The committee should inquire into the nature and the background of these incidents before submitting its report,” he said, adding, “The allegations levelled against the VHP and the Bajrang Dal should also be looked into.”Condemning the violence in the state, he said neither the VHP nor the Bajrang Dal were involved in these incidents.

In an article published in the latest issue of `Panchajanya,’ RSS Sarsanghchalak (chief) Rajendra Singh, popularlyknown as Rajju Bhaiya, condemned the attacks on churches in some parts of the country saying “these went against the very grain of the Hindu ethos, where all ways of worships are treated with respect. … Such an attack” (on Christians) “will be un-Hindu in nature and should be condemned by all,” he added.