Keep vigil at mosques: VHP announces nationwide protest over Prophet row clashes

Bajrang Dal activists will hold a nationwide protest this week against the recent incidents of violence in parts of the country over remarks against Prophet Mohammad, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) announced on Tuesday.

The RSS affiliate said its youth wing activists will hold a sit-in in district administration headquarters across the country on Thursday against the "growing extremist incidents by Islamic Jihadi fundamentalists", and also submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Protests erupted in several parts of the country, including outside Delhi's Jama Masjid, on June 10 against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by now-sacked BJP functionaries Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

In Jharkhand, some policemen were injured in a bid to control demonstrators, while authorities in Jammu imposed a curfew in a few areas. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, protesters pelted stones at the police, prompting the force to baton-charge them and use tear gas shells.

"Against the growing extremist incidents by Islamic Jihadi fundamentalists in the country, the VHP's youth wing Bajrang Dal will now take to the streets," the saffron outfit's Secretary General Milind Parande said in a statement.

"Bajrang Dal activists will hold a sit-in across all district headquarters on Thursday against continuous attack on Hindus by the Jihadi fundamentalists and submit a memorandum to the President," he added.

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Parande demanded that a strict vigil be kept at the mosques from where the mobs allegedly came out after Friday prayers and carried out violence in parts of the country on June 10.

"Those who instigated the mob should be arrested immediately and strict action be taken against them," Parande demanded, adding, "Security of those being threatened be ensured. Those threatening be arrested and criminal cases be filed against them." He demanded that authorities should also tighten the noose around Muslim outfits "like Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, mosques and people of jihadi mindset who are source of food and inspiration for such rioters".

On Monday, the VHP's Delhi unit had called upon people in the city to assemble in temples and participate in mass recitations of Hanuman Chalisa at 8 pm on Tuesday to register a protest against the June 10 violence.

In a statement, the RSS affiliate alleged that violent demonstrations were held and stones pelted at temples and houses after prayers in mosques on June 10 as part of a "well-planned conspiracy to defame India globally".

"Illegal fatwas were issued for the killing of Nupur Sharma... The Hindu society rejects and strongly condemns the pressure that was built on the Hindu society due to such illegal demonstrations," Delhi VHP chief Kapil Khanna said in a statement.

"To protest against this, I call upon the Hindu society of Delhi to assemble at small and big temples in the city and participate in mass recitation of Hanuman Chalisa at 8.00 pm tomorrow (June 14, 2022)," he added.

Khanna also urged managers and priests of temples to put up notices informing devotees to spread the information.

"It is absolutely necessary to showcase our strength in such a manner and constitutionally respond to the unethical pressure being built on the Hindu society," he said.

"To get rid of such kind of jihad, we must gather in our temples at least once a week," he said.