Oppn seeks ban on Sanatan Sanstha, alleges conspiracy

MUMBAI : Alleging that rightwing extremists had hatched a conspiracy to create communal trouble on the occasion of Bakri Eid later this month, opposition parties on Friday demanded a ban on right-wing outfits Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

Leader of opposition in the legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said on Friday that “right-wing outfits had conspired to carry out blasts at religious places with an intention to start Hindu-muslim riots”.

“Vaibhav Raut, arrested by the ATS (anti-terrorism squad) with crude bombs and raw material (on Thursday), had previous cases of riots against him. Minutes after the arrest, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has termed it as Malegaon Part-2, which clearly establishes the conspiracy of such blasts,” the senior Congress leader alleged.

“The Sanathan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are under the lens in the cases of killings of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and MM Kalburgi. As part of precaution and to avert any more such killings, the outfits should be immediately banned,” he said.

The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) state unit chief Jayant Patil said that the state and Central governments ensured the acquittal of the accused in the Malegaon blast case and the ATS operation on Thursday hints at the possibility of a similar such plan. “Since the accused arrested is affiliated to the Sanatan Sanstha, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate their links and conspiracy behind it,” he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged the Sanathan Santha has been getting political patronage from certain state governments.

Denying that Raut was a member of Sanatan Sanstha, the outfit’s spokesperson Chetan Rajhans criticised the opposition parties for demanding a ban it. “The demand of the liberals seeking a ban on Sanatan Sanstha is deceitful,”he said.