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VHP leaders drawing huge crowds
VHP LEADERS DRAW HUGE CROWD IN GUJARAT
Times of India, February 3, 1995
Ahmedabad: Two prominent leaders of the Sangh Parivar, Sadhvi Ritambhara
and Acharya Dharmendraji, recently undertook a whirlwind tour of the state
denouncing the ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
In their tour of Rajkot, Surat, Ahmedabad and Baroda which concluded on
Tuesday, the leaders criticised the Congress, Janata Dal adn Samajwadi Party
for trying to "Islamise" the country.
However, both the leaders stressed that their tour had nothing to do with
the coming assembly elections.
The VHP has reportedly drafted hundreds of saints and dharmacharyas to
tour the state campaigning for Hindutva.
This election strategy for both Gujarat and Maharashtra was reportedly
finalised by prominent saints and dharmacharyas along with VHP leaders at a
meeting in Allahabad recently. The saints and dharmacharyas would keep well
away from the BJP leaders and candidates, thus ensuring that they did not
come within the ambit of the code of conduct, it was clarified.
More than 50,000 people turned up at Rajkot on Sunday to cheer the two
leaders. About a lakh attended the rally at Surat, and stayed there until
well past midnight shouting their support for BJP.
The meetings were organised under the banner of the Hindu Sangam and Ram-
sevak Samiti to sidestep the ban and the organisers had told the district
authorities that their meetings had nothing to do with politics.
At Rajkot, finance minister Manoharsingh Jadeja had even complained that
the platform would be used for political purposes, but the authorities
ignored his plea.
While Acharya Dharmendraji said the fight would continue till the ban on
VHP was lifted. Sadhvi Ritambhara asked the people to defend the saffron
flag of Hindutva with the last drop of their blood.
