The Hindu : New Delhi News : Hindu Rashtra our aim, says Bajrang Dal chief

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Hindu Rashtra our aim, says Bajrang Dal chief

Neena Vyas

Denies that his organisation has a role in attacks on Christians

“How can you be sure Christians are not killing each other?”
“One of the two people who died in Kanpur blast was ex-Bajrang Dal man”

NEW DELHI: Bajrang Dal chief Prakash Sharma has admitted that Bhupinder Singh, one of the two men who died in an explosion while bombs were assembled in a private hostel in Kanpur on August 24, was a “former activist.” But “he left the Dal several years ago. The Dal cannot be held responsible for his actions,” Mr. Sharma has told The Hindu here.

When the Bajrang Dal was set up in 1984 as the youth arm of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Mr. Sharma was made its Kanpur unit convener. At that time, it was “active only in a few districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Today it has some 13 lakh activists spread across most of the States and our aim is to cover every district of the country,” said Mr. Sharma, who had just returned from a visit to Kanpur.

On August 24, the police found at the site of the bomb explosion at Rajeev Nagar “11 country-made pistols, explosives, seven timers, batteries and gelatin sticks,” according to reports quoting Kanpur Inspector-General S.S. Singh.

No further breakthrough has been made.

“Yes, Bhupinder Singh was one of us, but I do not know Rajeev Mishra, who also died in that explosion,” Mr. Sharma said.

“Statement a mistake”

The Bajrang Dal chief denied that his organisation was involved in the violence against Christians in Kandhamal district of Orissa or in Mangalore and elsewhere in Karnataka, although the Karnataka unit chief Mahendra Kumar, had issued a statement accepting its role.

Mr. Sharma dismissed that statement as a “mistake.”

“How can you say Hindus are involved? How can you be sure Christians are not killing each other? I know of two Christians who set fire to a church in Orissa.”

Senior VHP leader Giriraj Kishore, who was present at the interview, said: “There was bound to be reaction when Lakshmanananda [VHP activist] was murdered. After all, he was working in that area.”

Mr. Sharma said although the BJP was a coalition partner in the Orissa government “the murderers” of Lakshmanananda had not been caught.

“The government has done nothing to catch the culprits.”

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