VHP Says Hanuman Jayanti Processions Will Be Held At Over 500 Places, Attacks Mamata Banerjee
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory to all states on maintaining law and order on Wednesday.
New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has decided to hold 500 Hanuman Jayanti programs across the state on Thursday in the midst of the controversy over violence during the Ram Navami celebration in West Bengal.
VHP national assistant secretary Sachindranath Singha said that no weapons would be conveyed during the Hanuman Jayanti parades in the state.
"Around 500 small programmes would be organised across the state. We won't take out too many rallies and only a few will be held. No weapons will be carried during the rallies," he said.
Singha denied that the decision to hold fewer processions was a result of the violence that occurred during Ram Navami.
"Rallies are taken out during Ram Navami, and programmes are organised during Hanuman Jayanti. It has nothing to do with the problems during Ram Navami this time," he said.
In the Hooghly and Howrah districts of West Bengal, where two groups clashed during the Ram Navami procession, prohibitive orders were issued.
On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court ordered the West Bengal government to request central forces to assist the state police in keeping the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations peaceful.
Singha praised the court's decision and attributed the violence at the recent Ram Navami celebrations to the state government.
"The state government should have taken stern measures," he said.
In response to Singha's comment, TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh attributed the state's troubles to the BJP and VHP.
"The BJP, RSS and its affiliates like the VHP are fomenting trouble in the area. They are trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the state," he said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday encouraged individuals to calmly praise the Hanuman Jayanti celebration.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory to all states on maintaining law and order on Wednesday.
The MHA advised the states to ensure peaceful observance of the celebration and monitor factors that could disturb communal harmony in society.
“MHA has issued an advisory to all states in preparation for Hanuman Jayanti. The governments are encouraged to ensure the maintenance of law and order, peaceful observance of the festival, and monitoring of any factors that could disturb communal harmony in society,” the Home Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The MHA has issued an advisory to all states in preparation for Hanuman Jayanti. The governments are encouraged to ensure the maintenance of law and order, peaceful observance of the festival, and monitoring of any factors that could disturb communal harmony in society.
— गृहमंत्री कार्यालय, HMO India (@HMOIndia) April 5, 2023
The development follows from the riots that broke out during the Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal and the neighboring state of Bihar. Episodes of viciousness, torching and stone pelting were accounted for in these two states around Ram Navami.
Prohibitory orders under Segment 144 were additionally implemented in certain areas of West Bengal right after the conflicts.
The Calcutta High Court's acting Chief Justice Bench had also ordered the central force to be deployed in some of the state's most sensitive areas in advance of Hanuman Jayanti.
In the interest of maintaining order, the court instructed the state to request the assistance of paramilitary forces.
“If the intelligence department of the state was alert, such violence would not have happened. It also instructed that no political leader will give any provoking statement to the media,” the court said.
Ram Navami Violence In West Bengal
Massive violence erupted at Shibpur in Howrah during the Ram Navami procession on March 30. During the procession, the rioters vandalised public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.
Following the violence, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday told the media, "People were carrying guns and swords in the Ram Navami procession. Shops and materials of small vendors were vandalised and torched. What form of a procession is this? They were insanely playing DJ. Is it the way Ram Navami is celebrated? Which ritual is this? We have lived in Bengal for so long, but we have never seen anything like this. I might be lying, but these videos won’t lie.”
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