The Hindu : National : Take strong action against Bajrang Dal: CPI (M)

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 31, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Take strong action against Bajrang Dal: CPI (M)

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday asserted that the Central government take cognisance of the terrorist nature of the activities of the Bajrang Dal and take “strong action.”

In a statement, the Polit Bureau said the involvement of the organisation, which is affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the RSS, in violent activities was becoming increasingly evident. It said that two Bajrang Dal activists in Kanpur were killed recently while making bombs. The organisation was involved in the ongoing violence against the Christian community in Orissa, it said. Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, who led a delegation to Orissa on Friday, accused the Bajrang Dal and VHP of letting loose a “reign of terror” against the Christian community. Ms. Karat said the district administration denied the delegation permission to visit the affected districts. They, however, met a large number of Christian families who fled from their villages and took shelter in Bhubaneswar.

Addressing a press conference here, she said it was clear from the accounts of the affected people that for four days, following the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda, there was an “utter abdication of any governance” and the field was left open to the “reign of terror” unleashed by the Bajrang Dal and the VHP.

“The connivance of the government was exemplified by the permission given to Praveen Togadia to take out a funeral procession of the Swami for 200 km from the place where he was killed, to his main ashram. This deliberate fanning and inflaming of communal hatred against the Christian community directly resulted in violence being planned and executed by these organisations,” she said.

The CPI(M) leader said that the Centre had remained a “spectator when a bonfire was being made of the Constitutional rights of the Christian community.”

The delegation would give its report to the Prime Minister, she said adding it was essential for the Centre to play a proactive role to ensure that the violence was stopped and steps were taken. “Since many of the areas are under Schedule 5 of the Constitution, the Centre has an added responsibility,” she said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National