Nationwide protest continues By Pramod Kumar

Jehadi attack on Ramjanmabhoomi
Nationwide protest continues
By Pramod Kumar

The terrorist attack on Shri Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya on July 5 received sharp protests across the country. People registered their protest by staging dharnas, demonstrations and courting arrest. The VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organisations including Shiv Sena and Hindu Mahasabha, called bandh in various parts of the country. Educational institutions and public transport remained paralysed where bandh was observed. The VHP organised a week-long anti-terrorism demonstration across the country.

VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organisation activists staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 6. The police resorted to firing tear-gas shells and using water canons to dispel the agitated activists. Amidst slogans like Ramlalla ka ye apamaan, nahin sahega hindustan, the protestors demanded immediate resignation of Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav. They also burnt the effigy of Union Home Minister.

Acharya Giriraj Kishore, member, VHP'snational advisory board, led the VHP and Bajrang Dal workers at Jantar Mantar. Besides BJP president L.K. Advani, various senior BJP leaders including Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Dr Harsh Vardhan and Prof. Jagdish Mukhi courted arrest at the dharna. Addressing the protestors, Shri Advani termed the attack in Ayodhya as an insult of the whole Hindu society.

According to reports received from Ranchi, the bandh paralysed the normal life. Police reports said a total of 1465 picketers were rounded up throughout the state. Banks, educational institutions, shops and business establishments were closed in different parts of the state. Long distance buses were off the roads and trains were detained at different stations, as the BJP activists picketed on the railway tracks. In Ranchi, a few people were injured in a group clash between two communities over the observance of the bandh. Police also resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse the BJP activists. Later, a large number of BJP supporters led by state BJP president, Yadunath Pandey, staged a dharna. The bandh also paralysed normal life in Dhanbad, Lohardaga, Dumka and other districts of the state. In Bihar, the BJP workers observed anti-terrorism day by staging demonstrations across the state. They registered their protest by burning effigies of the UPA government for its failure to curb terrorism.

In Uttar Pradesh, the VHP, Bajrang Dal, BJP and other Hindu organisations took out processions and burnt effigies of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in various areas of Lucknow, Basti, Sant Kabirnagar, Varanasi, Mainpuri, Gorakhpur and Fatehpur. In Varanasi, 20 Shiv Sainiks were arrested from Chowk areas while they were trying to take out a protest march towards the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex.

In Uttaranchal, the saints expressed intense resentment and held the Central government responsible of failing to protect the Hindu honour. The saints alleged that in order to get Nobel Prize, the politicians were trying to make friendship with Pakistan, which was supporting terrorism in India. The saints warned the Centre if the atrocities on Hindus, temples and saints continued, its consequences would be grave and alarming. Swami Parmanand Saraswati, general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, said that Pakistan had been making conspiracy against Hindus and the left parties were trying to lessen the power of Hindus through governments by imposing tax on Hindu temples and ashrams. Several social and political organisations like Hindu Jagran Manch, ABVP, VHP, and BJP condemned the attack on Ramjanmabhoomi Ayodhya. Former Chief Ministers Nityanand Swami and Bhagat Singh Koshyari also held the Center responsible for the incident.

The BJP workers in Karnataka staged demonstrations at all talukas and district headquarters in protest against the terrorist attack. In Bangalore city, the BJP workers took out a procession, which culminated into a rally. BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly B.S. Yedyurappa, were among the leaders who addressed the rally. Later, the BJP leaders met State Governor, T.N. Chaturvedi and submitted him a memorandum.

In Indore, the VHP and BJP workers stormed Indore airport and prevented a Delhi-bound Jet Airways flight from taking off for nearly two hours. The bandh evoked impressive response in Uttaranchal with traders shutting down their shops. Dharnas and demonstrations were also organised in Maharashtra. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists held demonstrations at different places of the state. In Orissa, the police arrested over 1200 VHP and Bajrang Dal activists during the bandh. Normal life was badly affected in Bhubane-shwar. Bus services were completely paralysed following the bandh call. All the inter-district bus services remained suspended due to the bandh. The activists of various organisations including VHP, ABVP, Hindu Munnai, BJP, etc. also staged demonstrations in different parts of Tamil Nadu. Rajasthan also observed a complete bandh on July 7 as the state government also supported the bandh. There was no news of any violence from any part of the state.

(With inputs from Ravindra Saini in Dehradun and Shibu Ghosh in Kolkata)