The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have revealed themselves to be the prime movers of a mahapanchayat in Uttarakhand against “love jihad”, proclaiming that they would defy prohibitory orders to organise the event on Thursday.
Earlier, pro-Hindutva outfits like the Purola Vyapar Mandal had been at the forefront of the preparations for the event against the backdrop of Muslim shopkeepers being driven out of Purola town in Uttarkashi district, a typical Sangh parivar tactic of carrying out its agenda through shadowy organisations and denying any links in case of a controversy.
After the Uttarkashi administration and police said that permission had not been granted for the mahapanchayat and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami issued an ambiguous warning, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal came forward to openly lend their heft to the event. The prohibitory orders, which disallow gatherings of five or more persons, will be in place till June 19.
VHP and Bajrang Dal activists held a meeting in Purola on Wednesday afternoon and decided to defy the orders.
Anuj Waliya, the Uttarakhand state convener of the VHP, told The Telegraph over the phone: “Our mahapanchayat against the love jihadis and those who lure our teenaged daughters and blackmail them will take place on Thursday in Purola even though the dictatorial police have imposed Section 144.”
He claimed the organisations had never threatened Muslim traders or forced them to leave Purola. “Maybe those who ran away from the town were love jihadis. It is also wrong that we are pasting threatening posters on the shops of Muslim traders. It is the handiwork of the Owaisi gang.”
Asaduddin Owaisi, the AIMIM MP of Hyderabad, had claimed two days ago that Muslims were being targeted in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand.
Asked why they wanted to defy the orders of chief minister Dhami, who had said earlier in the morning that nobody would be allowed to take law and order into their hands, Waliya said: “He is talking about those who are conspiring against Hindu daughters.”
Virendra Rawat, a Bajrang Dal leader from the hill state, told this newspaper: “We have taken the responsibility of holding the mahapanchayat and warned the police to stay within their limits. We will target those who have been hurting Hindu sentiments by hatching a conspiracy against us.”
Brijmohan Chauhan, the president of the Purola Vyapar Mandal, said: “All the Hindu organisations, including the Vyapar Mandal, Purola Pradhan Sangathan and the Devbhumi Raksha Sangathan, have decided to support the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, which have taken the lead and decided to hold the mahapanchayat under any circumstances.”
The Mandal had earlier claimed that “ordinary residents” were organising the event.
Avoiding any direct remark on the mahapanchayat, chief minister Dhami told reporters in Dehrdaun, 140km south of Purola: “We will not allow anybody to take law and order into their hands and breach peace.”
Arpan Yaduvanshi, the superintendent of police of Uttarkashi, didn’t respond to calls from this newspaper. Local reporters quoted V. Murugesan, additional director-general of police, law and order, as saying: “Section 144 is in force in Purola and we have sealed the border of Uttarkashi to prevent outsiders from entering the district. We are also sending additional forces to Purola.”
Muslim event
Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Qasmi, the Sheher-e-Qazi of Dehradun, told reporters: “We have called a mahapanchayat in Dehradun on June 18 against the atrocities on the Muslim traders in the state.”
The event is to be held on the ground behind the old bus stand of the state capital.
“Many shopkeepers have been forced to abandon their businesses and migratefrom Purola and some other areas. We will discuss our strategy for the future,” Qasmi said.
A dozen Muslim traders have left Purola for Dehradun in the past one month out of fear of Hindu organisations that have allegedly threatened them with consequences if they stayed on beyond June 15.
