The Hindu : Togadia plans new Hindutva party

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003

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National

Togadia plans new Hindutva party

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD June 23. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary, Praveen Togadia, today suggested the formation of a new Hindutva party wedded to the goal of establishing a Hindu Rashtra and constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya. Hindu society, he felt, had become a "political orphan" with neither the BJP nor the Congress taking up the Hindutva agenda. When there could be a Christian Democratic Party in Europe, there was no reason why a similar party could not exist in India. "The time has come for the Hindu masses and classes to think about it.''

Mr. Togadia, who was addressing a press conference, flayed the NDA Government for betraying the Hindu sentiment by its refusal to pass a legislation on Ayodhya. He was also harsh on the BJP saying that its minority status in Parliament should not come in the way of its ideological conviction for building a Ram temple at Ayodhya. "I don't care if the BJP is embarrassed by my statements.'' He justified this tenacious stand on the ground that the VHP was bound by resolutions adopted by the RSS four decades ago and the Dharma Sansad in 1984 that the temples of Rama, Shiva and Krishna should be handed over to the Hindus. Mr. Togadia announced that the VHP's national executive committee would meet at Raipur in Chhattisgarh on June 27 and 28 to finalise an agitational programme. Asked why the Centre was ignoring the VHP in negotiations over Ayodhya, he quipped, "you ask the Government.'' As for the VHP, it was not too keen on having a dialogue on Hindutva issues with the Vajpayee-led Government.

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