A slew of murders and attacks on Hindus in the wake of the Nupur Sharma episode have left the Hindus outraged. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) recently organised a massive Hindu Sankalp March in Delhi, calling for upholding the rule of law and constitutional principles. Organiser Sub-editor Yatharth Sikka spoke to VHP International Working President Alok Kumar on the latter’s plan of action. Excerpts:
What is the purpose of the Hindu Sankalp March and what it means to Hindu society?
This is to take a resolve that we shall maintain the unity, integrity and fraternity of Bharat as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution. Recently, there have been instances and incidents which have threatened this unity and the rule of law. Some people had grievances against the expelled BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. On their complaints, FIRs have been registered. The police are investigating: The legal procedure is that the matter would go to a court and it would decide if the former BJP leaders were guilty. But, some people were not ready to accept this. They hit the streets, shouted slogans, stood on the pulpits and said, “Whosoever raises his eye, his eyes would be gauged out, whosoever waxes eloquent, his tongue would be cut, whosoever raised his head, it would be severed from the body”. This is not the rule of law. These are principles of Sharia law which may have prevailed 1400 years ago but they are out of date today. They are not applicable today in India and we shall not let anybody insist upon them. Then there were two murders about which the police had credible information that the victims’ were in danger. These things are a challenge both to the rule of law and fraternity.
Therefore, we have decided to express the resolve of the country to maintain unity and integrity to ensure that India would become a developed country, a happy country, a prosperous country and the Vishwa Guru.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has launched some helpline numbers. What do you aim to achieve?
In various parts of the country, threats are being issued. We have advised people not to be cowed down but go to the police station and report them. We expect the police to act. It is possible that at some places the police may not be inclined to do so. In such cases, the victim can call local Bajang Dal members and our young persons would accompany him to the police station and persuade the police to perform their duty.
Hindu organisations seem to be upset with the Supreme Court. Why is that?
No, we are not upset with the Supreme Court. We have full faith in the Supreme Court. But, then some of the oral comments that were made during the hearing of Nupur Sharma’s case were unnecessary; they did not relate to the matters at hand and should have been avoided. We believe the Supreme Court exceeded the limits of proprietary in making such irresponsible comments.
