New Delhi: The Bajrang Dal has denied involvement in a controversial 19 March incident where four nuns were asked to disembark from a train in Jhansi over an alleged forced conversion complaint and questioned by railway police.
According to reports about the incident, the nuns were questioned after a complaint from Bajrang Dal members that two of the women — trainees under the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala — were being taken for forcible conversion.
Railway police later said the complaint against the nuns was found to be without basis, and the women were allowed to board another train to their destination in Odisha.
The Bajrang Dal statement came hours after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the four nuns were “harassed” by Bajrang Dal members during their train journey.
“Bajrang Dal has nothing to do with this incident. Due to the anti-Hindu mindset the Church lobby sees Bajrang Dal in every incident,” said Bajrang Dal national convenor Sohan Singh.
“It is the church lobby that is behind this. If you look at the FIR or the complaint, there is no mention of Bajrang Dal. It is an eight-day-old case but soon after we got to know about it, we enquired from our Jhansi team and they denied any involvement,” he added.
Singh shared a copy of the complaint to back his claim. The complaint mentions members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the RSS student wing — as the purported complainants.
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‘More people joining us’
Singh said efforts are being made to defame the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, as “more people are joining it”.
“Bajrang Dal is becoming stronger as more Hindus, especially the youth, are connecting with us after seeing our work, especially during the coronavirus lockdown, during the donation drive for Ram Mandir,” he added. “It is because of this a campaign is being run to ensure people stay away from us. But the Hindu youth is well aware of these tactics and won’t fall for it.”
In his letter, Vijayan asked Shah to instruct the authorities concerned to take strict action against all groups and individuals who “disrupt and impair the freedom of individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution”. Such incidents, he said, tarnish the image of the nation and its “ancient tradition of religious tolerance and practice”. Shah has promised strong action against the perpetrators.
Edited by Sunanda Ranjan
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