The Congress on Friday demanded a ban on “fundamentalist” organisations like the Sri Rama Sene, whose chief Pramod Muthalik was reportedly caught on camera accepting money to engineer a riot.
The sting operation was carried out by a television channel and Tehelka and was being televised since morning.
Describing it as a matter of serious concern, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said more facts were likely to come to light and if the charges were proved, the Karnataka government should take action against these outfits. Also, any organisation trying to use religion to spread hatred in society should be taken to task.
“It is clear now that those giving moral support to the Sri Rama Sene all this while are now trying to dissociate themselves from it, but the people know the truth,” Mr. Ahmed said making an obvious reference to Sri Rama Sene's links with the BJP and the RSS. Some organisations were using religion to spread hatred for economic and political benefits.
Expressing similar sentiments, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said the country needed to keep a watch on both Hindu and Muslim radical fundamentalists. Unlike the earlier perception that only Muslims were involved in riots and terror acts, he said that since 2001 there had been cases where Hindu fundamentalist organisations were trained in making and throwing bombs. Mr. Singh said all such cases should be handed over to the National Investigation Agency.
