The Baharatiya Janata Party condemned Uttar Pradesh government's crackdown against VHP yatra from Ayodhya and accused it of playing vote bank politics while Samjwadi Party said it won't let the state "become another Gujarat" or a repeat of Dec 6, 1992, when the Babri mosque was demolished.
Police in Nagpur, Maharashtra, have formed 18 special teams to track down and arrest those involved in the violence that erupted in the city on Monday. As of Thursday, 69 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, while 200 accused have been identified and another 1,000 suspects are being investigated based on CCTV footage. The violence, which was sparked by rumors about a religious artifact being burnt during protests, led to injuries to 33 police personnel and damage to property.
"Who is Aurangzeb? Why should we allow his glorification in our state? He is a blot on our history," the deputy chief minister said in his closing remarks.
VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.
In yet another case of conversion since last week in Kerala, eleven persons belonging to three families embraced Hinduism near Kayamkulam in the District on Wednesday under an initiative of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The deadly stampede at the Maha Kumbh, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people, resonated in both Houses of Parliament on Monday, with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders demanding a list of the deceased.
If you can't control law and order, then resign, VHP tells NDA government in Bihar.
Prime Minister Modi will visit RSS headquarters in Nagpur on March 30.
The VHP leadership notes that 'ghar wapsi' wasn't something started after the Modi govt took over. Archis Mohan reports
A few days back, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued a notice to Khan, citing various lapses and lack of the building plan approval (for his house), sources said.
"The holy water of the Sharda Kund at the Sharda Peeth PoK was collected by Tanveer Ahmed and his team. Our civil society member across the LoC (Line of Control) carried it to Islamabad, wherefrom it was sent to his daughter Maghribi in the UK.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has moved back its office in New Delhi to its old address following the near completion of the rebuilding project spread across over 3.75 acre premises, housing three 13-storey towers and around 300 rooms and offices in total.
Amid mounting criticism of right wing outfits over Dadri lynching incident, Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday hit back and said it has become "fashion" for "some people" to abuse Hindus or else they contract "diarrhoea".
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
Two home guards were killed and at least 15 others, including several policemen, were injured on Monday as a mob in Haryana's Nuh district tried to stop a Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said.
The Gujarat high court has stayed the release of Maharaj, Aamir Khan's son Junaid's debut film, on Netflix after followers of Pushtimarg, a Vaishnava sect of Hinduism, claimed that it would hurt their religious sentiments.
Dismissing as "irrelevant" and "illogical" a Vishwa Hindu Parishad letter seeking a fatwa declaring India as a friend of Islam, Muslim groups said on Monday that the country does not belong to any particular community and Muslims are very much sons of the soil.
Two officers, including a deputy commissioner of police, were on Friday removed from field posting within 24 hours of a lathi-charge on Bajrang Dal activists staging an anti-drug mafia protest at a busy intersection in Indore.
"I am being targeted for a decade-old case, there is an attempt to suppress my voice. Rajasthan Police team came to arrest me. Someone told me plan was being made to kill me in an encounter," the VHP president claimed.
Talking to reporters in Pauri, Yashpal Benam, the bride's father and Pauri municipal chairman, said he thought of getting his daughter married to a Muslim youth for her happiness.
Representatives of the Shia community on Wednesday flatly rejected Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal's offer to hold talks on the Ayodhya issue.Singhal had said that since the Allahabad high court had dismissed the Sunni Waqf Board's suit staking claim to the disputed Ramjanma bhoomi- Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya, the VHP would now hold talks with Shia organisations. "The VHP is now trying to incite a confrontation between Shias and Sunnis," said a Shia cleric.
Sources in the AAP claimed that the chief minister was 'extremely displeased' with Gautam.
The district administration of Kandhamal, which has been violence-free for about a year, on Tuesday decided not to allow VHP leader Pravin Togadia to visit the town.
'The main accused was acquitted by the court while the sentence awarded to the others is less. They should have been given strict punishment'
The revised statement issued by the police also did not name the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.
Reacting to the grand old Congress party's decline to the 'pran-pratishtha' ceremony invitations of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Digvijaya said that the ruling party had turned the event into a BJP and VHP event.
With just 10 days left for the court verdict on Ayodhya title suits, political leader Kalyan Singh said he would visit the disputed site on September 16 to have "darshans" of Lord Ram and discuss with saints and VHP leaders the issue of building a temple there.
Days after the Uttar Pradesh government denied the Vishwa Hindu Parishad permission for the yatra, the row has gained a religious-political colour.
Togadia said he would go on an indefinite fast from Tuesday to push the Hindutva cause.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was passed unanimously as besides the BJP MLAs, members of the Opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party extended their support to it.
Building of Ram temple was not the only aim to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal said on Thursday.
This followed a revision petition by six BJP and VHP leaders.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
There are indications that the Modi dispensation was disinclined to bring the VHP into the temple-mosque frame.
The carving work by artisans had been carried out uninterrupted since 1990 when Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
Manmohan Singh represented the finest aspects of India, asserts Aakar Patel.
The VHP leader had been arrested in Ajmer on April 13 for violating a ban on distribution of tridents.
According to police, the alleged stone pelters came on two bikes and sped off. Following the incident, heavy police deployment has been put in place.
Chandrakant Patil also took a swipe at Uddhav for accusing Eknath Shinde of stealing the legacy of Bal Thackeray.
Once Ram temple is built it will become a 'ghoshit (declared) Hindu Rashtra', a VHP leader told the gathering.
