Contradictory claims on people number at 'dharam sabha'

Contradictory claims were made on the number of people who attended the 'dharm sabha' of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) here on Sunday.

While the VHP claimed that over two lakh 'Rambhakts' attended the meeting, police sources here put the figure between 70 to 75 thousand with around 25 thousand "floating" crowd.

There were several vacant spots at the sprawling Bada Bhaktmal Bagia ground in the temple town. Some VHP leaders attributed it to the scorching sun and lack of tents. "Many people chose to remain outside the venue as it was very hot inside, and there was no tent," said a VHP leader here.

The VHP had claimed that 2.5 lakh 'Ram bhakts' would attend the 'dharam sabha'.

People were brought in hundreds of buses by BJP legislators from nearby districts.