MUMBAI, 23 February 2007 — Renowned journalist and social activist Teesta Setalvad yesterday urged the Union government to impose a ban on Hindu fundamentalist organizations like Rashtriya Sewak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which she said were equivalent to the “jihadi” groups.
Speaking after the explosions aboard the Indo-Pak Samjauta Express train that killed 68 passengers, and the denial by the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray that no Hindus were involved in the train blasts, the firebrand journalist-activist blasted the government and said that the central and state governments should act neutrally and treat both the Hindu terrorist acts and “jihadi” terrorism on par and without exhibiting any impartiality.
Refusing to comment on the Pakistani media allegations that Hindu terrorists had played a role in the blasts on the Indo-Pak train, Setalvad, however, claimed that Hindu terrorist groups were being protected by the police and intelligence agencies and that the terrorist acts executed by the Hindu militants were not highlighted or explained to the people properly by the government.
Stating that investigations into some terrorist acts were dropped midway, while in some cases the investigating agencies just turned a blind eye, Setalvad urged that there was dire need to instill a sense of impartiality and purpose in the police force that are so far controlled by their political masters.
Setalvad expressed concern at the rapid growth of bomb-making factories by Hindus with terrorists’ links in several smaller urban cities of Maharashtra.
