Five accused wanted in connection with the July 31 communal violence were "handed over" to the police by residents of Singar village following repeated appeals by the police and administration, an official said on Monday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday demanded that all roads and monuments named after Mughal emperors be re-christened, claiming that the country should not drag on with "signs of slavery".
Normal life was affected across Orissa on Monday due to the 12-hour bandh call given by saffron outfits, including ruling coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party, to protest the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.There were reports of stray incidents of violence from communally-sensitive Kandhamal, where the VHP leader and four others were gunned down by a group of armed persons on Saturday.
Bharti had been in the forefront of the 'Hindu andolan' especially during the Ayyodhya movement, he said.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday asked Art of Living founder and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board member, Sri Sri Ravishankar, to keep away from the "boiling issue" of curtailment of Amarnath yatra, saying otherwise he will "burn his hands"
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday refused to accept the date fixed by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for the annual pilgrimage to the cave temple in south Kashmir Himalayas, saying the yatra this year will commence on June 4 for which it will begin registering pilgrims from Friday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday appealed to Indians to boycott Chinese goods in view of the 'repeated' incursions by the neighbouring country along the Line of Actual Control. "We appeal to people to boycott Chinese toys, edibles and electronics and other material in our country as China is daily violating our territory on the ground and in the air in Ladakh and North-East," said VHP president Ramakant Dubey.
The demand for imposing a ban on Sangh Parivar outfits Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishas on Monday gained momentum with the Congress saying these organisations were a "suitable case" for such action. "Bajrang Dal is a suitable case for ban... Also the VHP," Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said in Delhi.
It then went on to ask whether a lion could be named after Swami Vivekananda or Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
Expressing doubts over the Maoists' claim of having killed leader Lakshmananda Saraswati, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday insisted that 'a sect of Christians' was behind the murder that has sparked widespread rioting in Orissa.VHP General Secretary Pravin Togadia said his organisation and the Maoists have no reasons for confrontation and the Maoists could have made the claims under 'Communist Influence' to divert attention.
The police have registered an FIR against unidentified people for allegedly making provocative speeches at the August 13 'Sarv Hindu Samaj mahapanchayat' in Haryana's Palwal, officials said on Wednesday.
Vehicular movement was badly affected on the busy Vikas Marg, Akshardham, Deepali Chowk, Wazirpur, Moolchand and the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. Carrying VHP flags, slogan-shouting supporters of the Sangh Parivar started assembling at various intersections at about 0900 hours for their two-hour nationwide road blockade stir.
The shooting of Kathryn Bigelow's film on Osama bin Laden in Chandigarh to depict the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Abbottabad was stalled on Friday by Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists, who objected to the hoisting of Pakistani flags.
Sonal Shah, the first Indian-American to be inducted in United States President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, has formally renounced her affiliation with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which has been accused of fomenting violence against Muslims and Christians in India.Shah, former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has said if she could have anticipated the outfit's role in the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat, she would have never associated with its US branch.
The VHP is trying to gain political mileage through its October 17 programme in Ayodhya, Gyan Das, mahant of the Hanumangarhi Temple, said.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday warned that the country will be plunged into violence if Ram bhakts were prevented from reaching Ayodhya for an October 17 mass darshan.
The special Rae Bareli court on September 19 had framed charges against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Joseph Cooper was carrying out religious propaganda in violation of Indian laws, it said.
Union Minister Salman Khurshid said that the decision to ban VHP's 84 Kosi yatra has been taken by the Samajwadi Party government of Uttar Pradesh and Congress had nothing to do with it.
It was called to discuss the future course of action of the temple movement.
The police have arrested 10 persons, including a Bajrang Dal member, for allegedly vandalising the Congress's office in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during a protest against the party's poll promise in Karnataka to act against the right-wing outfit, an official said on Friday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has sought a ban on the upcoming Kamal Hassan Tamil flick 'Uttama Villain', claiming it would offend the religious sensibilities of Hindus.
After Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks that rapes were prevalent in India and not in Bharat, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad blamed the 'western model' of lifestyle for growing incidents of sexual assault on women including rape, saying cities were losing the values.
Security forces were maintaining a strict vigil across West Bengal in view of Hanuman Jayanti celebrations on Thursday, officials said.
Advani met RSS chief K Sudarshan and VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Parveen Togadia to discuss current political situation in the country. At least 15 top leaders of the RSS and the VHP were also present.
The judiciary cannot decide about issues related to Hindus, Pravin Togadia said.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday accused the Vajpayee government of failure to put pressure on the Khaleda Zia regime to save minority Hindus from 'growing torture' and threatened to organise a economic blockade of Bangladesh.
The Maharashtra police on Thursday registered a case against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia for making a hate speech in the Nanded district of the state last week.
Ashok Singhal asks the prime minister to mend his "secular" ways.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to 7,000 people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the consecration.
"Moves of conciliation are unacceptable to all the parties involved...previous meetings to resolve the issue through talks have remained futile. The option of talks is not open so far," VHP president Ashok Singhal said in New Delhi.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has opposed caste-based census, saying it would lead to caste based discrimination and strengthen casteist forces.
The only way to solve it is through a legislation, Pravin Togadia said.