NEW DELHI, 19 November 2002 — A top Hindu leader who was arrested and released on Sunday after his controversial rally was thwarted, yesterday indicated that his outfit was not going to back off from holding more rallies. "Hum apna sangharsh jaari rakhengey" (We will continue our struggle), he said.
In an scathing attack on Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) General Secretary Perveen Togadia said, "She was instrumental in influencing Chief Election Commissioner James Michael Lyngdoh to impose a ban on the VHP rally. "Gujarat will be Sonia Gandhi’s waterloo," Togadia said referring to Congress’s prospects in the Dec. 12 assembly elections in Gujarat.
Hundreds of Hindu activists were arrested on Sunday ahead of the march in Gujarat after it was forbidden by the commission. "Ours is a socio, cultural, religious campaign aimed at establishing a Hindu nation," Togadia said. "We’re going ahead to project our viewpoint by going door-to-door across Gujarat and even beyond," he said.
The VHP leader said that his group does not requires political leaders who do not toe its line of Hindutva and "create obstacles" in the formation of a "Hindu Rashtra". Talking to reporters at here, Togadia did not mince words when he stated that the "VHP motive is clear and it is to remove all those chief ministers and prime ministers who object to the formation of Hindu Rashtra."
Togadia said his group’s campaign, which he expected would start this week, was not directly connected to the state election but "it cannot be seen in isolation and will affect the electoral prospects" of parties. Thousands of VHP workers and Hindu priests would take part in the campaign.
However, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani asserted in the Parliament yesterday that India could never be converted into a Hindu state.
