PUNE, 19 December 2002 — The Hindutva brigade, after its thumping victory in Gujarat, has now shifted its attention toward Maharashtra state. Militant Hindu outfits, vociferously touting the Hindu card were instrumental in leading Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a massive win in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections.
Now one of the Hindu militant outfits, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has turned to a neighboring state to hold a brainstorming five-day session from Dec. 25 to Dec. 29. Top VHP leaders V.H. Dalmiya, Ashok Singhal, Pravin Togadia, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Uma Bharati will attend the session. Also attending will be RSS chief K. Sudarshan.
The Congress-led Democratic Front government in Maharashtra is viewing this with caution. Though alarmed at the VHP meet, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party feel that they are more than ready to thwart any trouble that could be triggered by this meeting where there is every likelihood of provocative speeches being made. They also fear possible trouble during the planned rally by the VHP on Dec. 29.
The government, headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, is worried that the first VHP executive committee meeting to take place in the state, could spark unrest in other parts of the state. Pune was carefully chosen as the meeting place as it is considered to be a stronghold of Maratha leader and NCP President Sharad Pawar. The VHP is also testing waters of rallying behind a Hindu wave with the state being one of the many going for Assembly elections in the near future.
A top ranking police official said that though they would be providing security to VHP leaders, they would also ensure that there was no break down of law and order in the state during the meet. He said that though the VHP is trying to penetrate Maharashtra, their Gujarat "magic" would not work here.
The "magic" of VHP will not work in states like Maharashtra or West Bengal. For the people of these states do not take heed of the utterances of people like Pravin Togadia," he said.
The timing of the VHP meeting will also give the dissidents within the Congress the chance to become more vocal against chief minister Deshmukh.
A senior Congress leader said that if the Congress High Command does not act now, the fallout from Gujarat could affect Maharashtra too. "We are not against Deshmukh, but the fact remains that his government has failed to tackle development and the law and order situation properly in the state," he said while citing the recent riots in Malegaon and Sholapur.
