Kashmir must be handed over to Army: Togadia

Pravin Togadia, the international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), addressed a meeting of state-level VHP activists on Sunday -- the second day of his visit to the city.

“Kashmir should be handed over to the Army for giving a befitting reply to stone pelters and bank robbers. Once that is done, the situation there will improve,” said Togadia addressing the media on the sidelines of the event.

He also held J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti responsible for the “declining situation in the state”.

To questions regarding the timeline of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, he said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has devoted the last three years to making the country strong economically. The Ram temple will be constructed after enacting a law.”

Reacting to the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, he remarked, “Muslims get money from public funds to go for Haj, but Hindus have to finance their Amarnath Yatra. On top of that, they are being killed in Kashmir. The government needs to take some tough steps.”

While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader avoided making any direct comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to ‘gau rakshaks’ to shun violence, he did say that the cow vigilantes “should not fear anybody”.

“Gau rakshaks should not worry about what people say. Today, the country is demanding ‘Hindu awareness’,” he said.

Togadia also urged activists of VHP sister organisations -- ‘Satsang’, ‘Durga Vahini’, ‘Matra Shakti’ and ‘Bajrang Dal’ -- to work to raise the membership of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

“VHP activists should make efforts to enrol two lakh new members for participating in the Bajrang Dal meeting to be organised in December. The activists should also serve ‘kanwarias’,” he said.

After the meeting, Togadia paid obeisance at the Tika Ram temple here.

Muslims get money from public funds to go for Haj, but Hindus have to finance their Amarnath Yatra. On top of that, they are being killed in Kashmir. The government needs to take some tough steps. PRAVIN TOGADIA, leader, VHP