Normal life disrupted in Assam during a statewide bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, RSS's executive council member Ram Madhav emphasised on using the judgement for strengthening national integrity but avoided agreeing to building a mosque and a temple at the same site.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks on possible autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday came under sharp criticism from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
After the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a Muslim outfit on Saturday protested the shooting of Kathryn Bigelow's film on Osama bin Laden in Chandigarh. The movie is based on the killing of the Al Qaeda leader in Abbottabad (Pakistan). The outfit alleged that shooting of the film will disturb the peaceful atmosphere between the communities in a secular country.
Eight years since the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, some 1,117 people accused in 97 cases related to murder, rape, robbery and arson among others connected to the violence have been acquitted over lack of evidence.
Speaking to reporters, VHP national general secretary Milind Parande also said the construction of the temple will take a little time but the 'garbhagriha' (sanctum sanctorum) will be in place by December 2023 with starting of puja ritual and darshan for devotees.
The Gujarat high court on Monday rejected the Special Investigation Team's plea seeking cancellation of bail of Babu Bajrangi, former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and an accused in the 2002 Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gam riot cases. The petition by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team, filed in August last year, was rejected by Justice R H Shukla.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday gave its support to Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption but said it was involved in the movement "only as patriots".
Continuing to back Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal on Sunday said there was lot of support for him in the country. "Modi is the hero of the Hindus. That's why his name is being taken by the Hindus. What's wrong in him leading the country," Singhal asked.
The VHP leader, at a rally in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, had demanded installation of a Datta idol at Bababudanagiri, the Hindu-Muslim shrine.
In the wake of the killing of three Hindus in Sindh province in Pakistan, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday asked India to take up the issue of the security of the minority community with officials in Islamabad. "We demand protection of minority Hindus in Pakistan where they have been subjected to repeated attacks. Human rights organisations across the world and the Indian government should seek an explanation from the Pakistan premier about the repeated killings," he said.
Visiting diplomats from the European Union faced protest from Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists at the Bhubhaneshwar airport as soon as they landed in Orissa, on Tuesday. The diplomatic delegation comprised representatives from Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Britain, Finland and Sweden.
Asserting the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute could be resolved only by Parliament and not by a court of law, the Vishwa Hindu Parishand today said it would initiate efforts at the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad to ensure that those sensitive towards the sentiments of Hindus were elected to it in a large number.
Before the possible arrival of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to New Delhi ahead of the 2014 general election, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have decided to rake up the Ayodhya Ram Mandir issue again.
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 crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
Ganesh Chaturthi to be celebrated in London
The police on Sunday detained 53 Bajrang Dal activists after foiling their bid to move towards Baltal base camp of Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir, ahead of the commencement of the annual pilgrimage in June. Flagged off by Vishwa Hindu Parishad state chief Rama Kant Dubey from Jammu city, a group of 150 members boarded two buses and left for Kashmir Valley. They were intercepted by the police on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway at Jajjarkotli, 35 km from Jammu.
Nearly 40 days after violence erupted in Kandhamal district following the assassination of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Laxmananda Saraswati, the judicial commission on Friday began inquiry into the incidents, official sources said.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia on Tuesday said the welcome of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari before the extradition of Mumbai terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed was a "matter of shame" and the Centre it seemed was taking it up only as a diplomatic issue.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday said its volunteers were active in Gandhian Anna Hazare's movement against corruption in Delhi last year.
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 Monday urged the Hindus to mobilise the opinion of the community, put pressure and demand that Parliament pass a legislation to construct the Lord Rama temple at Ram Janmabhoomi at Ayodhya.
The VHP has backed its Hindutva partner RSS in criticising forme PM A B Vajpayee and BJP chief L K Advani.
Gulbarg massacre: This is where my father died
Security has been stepped up in the city and Godhra town in wake of the 10th anniversary of the Sabarmati Express train carnage, which killed 59 people and triggered large-scale communal violence in many parts of Gujarat in 2002 claiming over 1200 lives.
The 10th anniversary of Godhra train carnage, which left 59 karsevaks dead and triggered one of worst communal riots in Gujarat that claimed the lives of over 1200 Muslims, will be marked today by a slew of events with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad taking out a rally and Non-Governmental Organisations coming together to demand justice for the riot victims.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday came in defence of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, prime accused in the Malegaon blasts, and called the imposition of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against them as 'political conspiracy'.
Ending all speculations, finally Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Patna on Saturday morning to attend the two-day Bharatiya Janata Party national executive meeting.
Tanvir Jaffrey, the son of former member of Parliament Ehsaan Jaffrey, who was killed in the post-Godhra riots in 2002, has lodged a complaint against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Praveen Togadia.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has opposed caste-based census, saying it would lead to caste based discrimination and strengthen casteist forces.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday said it was disappointed by the Gujarat court's decision to award death penalty to only 11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case and asked the state government to appeal against the verdict.
The Allahabad high court on Thursday directed recording of evidence on a day-to-day basis by the Rae Bareli trial court in the Babri Masjid demolition case, rejecting a plea by a Vishwa Hindu Party leader.
Even as the 19th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on Tuesday remained a non-event, what came as a pleasant surprise was the message of peace and communal amity from none other than Babri Masjid Action Committee.
Following the threat held out by Praveen Togadia, international general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad that he would lead massive demonstrations if the Delhi government decided to serve beef to the foreign nationals taking part in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, Sheila Dixit's government has bowed to Togadia.
Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal staged a demonstration in New Delhi on Saturday against the ban on their leader Praveen Togadia's visit to Orissa's Kandhamal district. The Orissa government has imposed a ban on VHP leader Togadia from entering the communally sensitive Kandhamal district."The state government didn't stop foreign missionaries from going to tribal areas of Kandhamal and other parts of Orissa," said a VHP leader.