Giving the clarion call of ‘Ab ki baar Hindu sarkar’, Antarrashtriya Vishwa Parishad (International Hindu Council) chairman Praveen Bhai Togadia declared that he would float a new party and contest the next Lok Sabha election but stopped short of naming the proposed outfit.
Hitting out at the BJP but without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi or others, Togadia, former Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international general secretary, alleged that the present regime had ditched the Hindus by backing away from constructing the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Addressing a mammoth Sankalp Sabha on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya on Tuesday, Togadia said that it was unfortunate that Lord Rama failed to get justice in the last four-and-a-half years.
“Those people who promised to construct Ram temple at Ayodhya and came to power, forgot the promise they made to the people. Instead, they constructed a lavish party office by spending Rs 500 crore while Lord Rama still has to do with a tent in Ayodhya,” he lamented.
Togadia announced his entry into active politics and to contest the Lok Sabha elections and said that the name of his party would soon be announced in New Delhi. “If we come to power, our main focus will be on Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. We will also bring a law to control population of minorities and end minority status of Muslims,” Togadia said underlining his party’s priorities and appealing to all Hindu organisations to join his party.
Raising the slogan of ‘Abki Bar Hindu Sarkar’, the International Hindu Council chairman said that if his party came to power in 2019, then construction work in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura would commence in three months. He said that his outfit would continue raising the issue of ‘Ram Mandir nahi to vote nahi’. He also gave the slogan of ‘Ek booth, 25 youth’. “We have to give a new alternative before the majority Hindu voters as the present government has failed to honour its promise,” he said.
Prior to the rally, the police had a hard time controlling supporters of Togadia as they suddenly changed their route and decided to go for a darshan of Ram Lalla at the dispute site. The exuberant supporters scuffled with the police as the latter used mild force to disperse them. The situation was, however, brought under control after Togadia intervened and decided not to go for Ramkot Parikarma for darshan of Ram Lalla.
Security personnel also took several stringent measures to prevent any untoward incident near the disputed site and, for some time, they only allowed the locals to enter Ayodhya.