Date:13/02/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/02/13/stories/2003021304291100.htm

National

AIFB demands Togadia's arrest under POTA

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI FEB. 12. The All India Forward Bloc today demanded the immediate arrest of the VHP international general secretary, Praveen Togadia, under POTA if the Government was "serious" about preserving communal harmony in the country.

The party said that while convening the special joint session of Parliament to pass the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Government had argued that it needed stringent laws to tackle those who disrupt communal harmony in the country.

"If the Government is serious in its stand, it should arrest Mr. Togadia under POTA. His venomous speeches and statements are creating communal tension all over the country. His inflammatory deliberations are against the secular character of the nation," the AIFB secretary, G. Devarajan said in a statement.