Congress demands action against VHP president

The Congress on Monday moved the Election Commission demanding action against Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president Pravin Togadia for making “anti-national” and “provocative” remark.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) defended Togadia, maintaining that he did not make such a statement.

“Togadia has targeted his guns and bombarded Muslims by exhorting Hindus to forcibly evict them and take control of their business houses. To describe such a statement as a hate speech in violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) would be too mild. His statement is anti-national, provocative, inflammatory and an open threat to persons belonging to a particular community,” the Congress said in its complaint.

The ruling party asked the poll panel to take prompt action against Togadia.

The BJP, however, defended Togadia, rejecting reports that he, while addressing a rally in Bhavnagar in Gujarat on Saturday, said that Muslims should be stopped from buying property in Hindu areas.

“I talked to Togadiaji. He said he did not make such a statement,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.