Yogi’s Vahini in demand: over 5,000 membership requests a day

Hindu Yuva Vahini issues guidelines for first time, state chief says used to get 500 to 1,000 requests in a month earlier

SINCE YOGI Adityanath took over as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh last month, a prohindutva outfit founded by him in 2002 has seen a spike in membership applications with over 5,000 requests being received on an average every day, according to a senior office-bearer at its Gorakhpur headquarters.

So much so, that the Hindu Yuva Vahini, which had no norms or rules for recruitment previously, has issued guidelines for induction of new members. Earlier, the HYV, a “social organisation”, used to receive 500 to 1,000 such applications every month.

According to the new guidelines, issued through a circular on Friday by HYV state office incharge P K Mall, candidates will have to undergo a one-year scrutiny process, including a background check and verification to know whether they had any previous inclination towards any political party.

The circular, sent to officebearers in all districts and divisional units, warns them to “be careful while inducting a new person as a member” in the organisation, which does not have any women members.

“A lot of people want to join the organisation with a strategy to defame it and hence activities as well as background of the new applicants must be checked. After induction, a newcomer would be given post in the organisation only after working as an ordinary worker for at least six months,” states the circular.

Earlier, an applicant used to be charged Rs 11 for membership with receipts being handed out but that practice has been discontinued — membership is now free and only online applications will be accepted.

When contacted, Mall told The Indian Express: “In the past, only around 500 to 1,000 people used to contact HYV for membership in a month. But after March 19, since Mahantji (Yogi Adityanath) was sworn in as CM, we are receiving membership requests, including over phone, from more than 5,000 people every day.”

Mall claimed that membership requests have been received from other states, too, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Odisha.

Praveen Khanna A Hindu Yuva Vahini office in Gorakhpur.