NEW DELHI & GANDHINAGAR: Unfazed by PM Modi’s strong criticism of cow vigilantism and the Centre’s nudge to state governments for a crackdown, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is going ahead with a mega rally it had planned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the storming of Parliament over the demand for a ban on cow slaughter.
Set for November 7 in the capital, the rally will have VHP activists from across the country taking a pledge to continue with their ‘Gau Raksha’ campaign. VHP sources in Gujarat said they would work to ensure a lakh-plus turnout at the rally which is expected to announce an action plan for the strict enforcement of the ban on cow slaughter.
While the plan to mark the tumultuous event predates Prime Minister Modi’s rebuke to ‘cow vigilantes’, VHP has decided not to scale it down.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad which was at the vanguard of the Ram temple campaign often tends to view itself as more important than BJP within the Sangh parivar, demanding that the political arm of the RSS recognise its stature: an insistence which leads to a conflict of priorities.