The Hindu : National : Saffron outfits slam Orissa government

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National

Saffron outfits slam Orissa government

Special Correspondent

Criticise it for ‘failure’ to arrest VHP leader’s killers

— Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

Members of Sangh Parivar outfits assemble in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to attend a ceremony in memory of slain VHP leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati.

BHUBANESWAR: A number of Sangh parivar organisations on Saturday criticised the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for its ‘failure’ to arrest the killers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati.

The heads of the saffron outfits that came under the banner of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati Shradhanjali Samiti alleged that the Orissa government was going soft on those who conspired and killed the VHP leader in Kandhamal district on August 23.

Samiti president Ratnakar Chaini warned that if the Naveen Patnaik government did not arrest those involved in the killing of the Swami by December 15 it would organise a state-wide bandh on December 25.

Thousands owing allegiance to various organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamesevak Sangh, the Bajrang Dal, the Hindu Jagran Samukhya, and Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, participated in the Shradhanjali Samavesh that the Samiti organised to pay tributes to the slain VHP leader. Several local leaders of the BJP were in the crowd.

A large number of security personnel drawn from the Central paramilitary forces and different wings of the State police were deployed at the rally venue, Mahatma Gandhi Marg near the State Assembly building.

Security personnel were also deployed outside churches and other Christian institutions in the city to prevent any untoward incident. The rally, however, passed off peacefully.

The Centre had reportedly sent a message to the State government with an advice not to allow holding of the rally in view of the communal tension in Kandhamal. The authorities, however, allowed the organisers to go ahead with their plans.

The city wore a saffron look during the day with saffron flags fluttering at almost all roundabouts. The images of Lakshmanananda Saraswati were also put up at all strategic locations.

Interestingly, almost all the speakers criticised the State government as if the police had not achieved any progress in the case pertaining to the murder of the VHP leader. The Crime Branch has so far arrested four persons in the case.

Those who addressed the rally also demanded that laws pertaining to conversion and cow slaughter be implemented by the State government strictly.

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