People's Democracy

BRINDA KARAT TO HOME MINISTER

'Put Bajrang Dal & VHP On Terror List'

Brinda Karat, CPI(M) MP and Polit Bureau member has written the following letter to union home minister Shivraj Patil on September 8, 2008 urging strong action against the Bajrang Dal and the VHP for their terroristic activities.

I AM writing to you on an important issue of national security. I strongly urge the government to put the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad on the watch list of organisations indulging in terrorist like activities. Recent events in Orissa have highlighted the use of violence by these two organisations against the Christian community including the use of weapons, inflammatory material to burn homes, prayer houses and churches etc. In Bhubaneswar, it was reported that the son of a BJP leader and his accomplice, associated with one of these organisations were arrested when the bomb they were making exploded. Recently in Kanpur two Bajrang Dal activists were killed while making bombs and several were injured. There are reports of attempts being made to spread the violence to states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan by these organisations. In addition their leaders are making the most rabidly communal speeches. These actions seriously undermine national security.

You will recall that on April 30, 2008 I had raised the issue of the Tenkasi bomb blast in the Rajya Sabha, in which, according to the investigation of the Tamilnadu police, known RSS men were involved. In the context of similiar incidents of bomb blasts in Nanded and the parcel bombs sent to Muslim religious leaders in Maharashtra I had asked for a CBI inquiry into all these blasts and incidents. You had said that the Tamilnadu investigations had not mentioned any connection between these different incidents. Unfortunately my demand was not accepted.

These incidents should not be seen in isolation. As revealed by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra it is a carefully prepared plan by the aforesaid organisations to create communal disturbances by (1) making bombs with a view to engineering bomb blasts ostensibly against the Hindu community to rouse communal passions and (2) by directly attacking minority community religious leaders and other functionaries.

I urge you to kindly take the severest action against the Bajrang Dal and VHP by applying the necessary procedures to check their terroristic activities.