Congress accuses BJP of 'polarising' through Bajrang Dal's annual defence camp

The Congress Party on Tuesday condemned the recently concluded annual self-defence camp organised by the Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya city. The party said it was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to polarise the situation in the state where Assembly polls are scheduled to be held next year.

"There is no use of making this kind of environment in the nation. The BJP people will now do these kinds of activities everyday to polarise the situation as elections are round the corner in Uttar Pradesh," Congress leader Meem Afzal told ANI.

"Instead of trying to polarise the situation, they should instead work for the betterment of the country," he added.

Another Congress leader, Shobha Oza, said the Samajwadi Party government in the state should immediately put a ban on such institutions and the organisers of such camps must be arrested.

"I think such institutions should be banned by the Uttar Pradesh government. They must be arrested and stringent action should be taken against them," Oza told ANI.

She also accused the ruling NDA regime at the Centre of promoting such events and said this was an attempt by the BJP to increase its vote bank.

In the annual self-defence camp, Bajrang Dal cadres are trained to use rifles, swords and sticks so that they can "protect the Hindus".

Similar camps will be held till 5 June in Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit, Noida and Fatehpur cities in the state.

The cadre can be seen killing men dressed as Muslims during the mock drill.

Manoj Verma, the organiser, said, "We prepare them to boost their self-esteem. This training is of self-defence. They are taught to tackle different situations. This is about self-confidence."

"This whole annual programme is about boosting the self-confidence and morale of the cadre," he added.

Bajrang Dal, which is the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, has faced allegations of rioting and violence against religious minorities in the past.

The poll for the 403-member Assembly in Uttar Pradesh is likely to be held in early 2017.

-With agency inputs