PM Modi has shamed us: VHP's Praveen Togadia lashes out
Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his statement condemning cow vigilantism, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia accused Modi of "dividing Hindus" and "protecting Muslim cow butchers".
The VHP leader also asked the prime minister to immediately take back his remark of calling 80% gau rakshaks 'fakes' and said that Modi's statement has "shamed us".
On 6 August, while addressing his first Townhall, the prime minister finally broke his silence on Dalit atrocities and said that he gets angry with those "running shops" in the name of cow protection and that 80% of these individuals do "illegal activities" at night.
Also read: Una effect: Dalit rage forces Modi to take Gau Rakshaks by their horns
While RSS, the fountainhead of BJP, had endorsed prime minister's condemnation of cow protectors, VHP finally broke its silence on Saturday.
Modi made it worse?
A furious Togadia went on to claim that cow slaughter has increased ever since "our dear prime minister" made these statements and he is getting abusive calls from people who are seeking answers for what the prime minister said.
"These are the same gau rakshaks who voted for you and now they are sad and we have no answers for them. They feel insulted," Togadia claimed.
He went on to add that if cow protectors are targeted, cows will disappear from India.
Figuring it out
Citing absurd data, the VHP president said that the ratio of cow and humans in India was 440:1000 and today it stands at 40:1000.
"This is because lakhs of cows have been butchered. What more proof do you need, dear prime minister?" he asked at the press meeting.
Seeking data from the prime minister on his claims on fake gau rakshaks, Togadia asked the basis for such data which the former has publicly used to "demean cow protecting Hindus" and "giving a clean chit to the cow butchers".
"This is racial profiling of Hindus Mr Prime Minister and this didn't even happen during the British rule. We didn't expect this."
All talk
He went on to add that while the prime minister is going to Pakistan and holding meetings with their leaders, he didn't feel the need to speak to the gau rakshaks.
"While our dear prime minister gets angry at gau rakshaks, he sympathises with Kashmiris who kill Bharat's brave soldiers, wave Pakistani and ISIS flags and raise slogans of Pakistan Zindabad. Are they innocent because they are Muslims and are gau rakshaks 'anti-social gundas' because they are Hindus? What is the level of such politics?" he said.
The VHP President also gave six-point programme to Modi which included banning beef export and asking people living on India-Bangladesh border to send videos of cow trafficking to the prime minister and him.
He also assured all gau-rakshaks of all legal help if they are targetted by any state authorities due to the advisory issued by the central government.
Who cares what the government thinks!
Criticising the advisory issued by the government to take strict action against cow protectors, VHP leader said that earlier dossiers were made for terrorists and now they are making it on these cow protectors. He added, "Instead, a dossier should be made of Kashmiris and Muslim butchers."
Asking Modi to start a 24*7 "gau raksha helpline", Togadia said the helpline should be under the PMO and if the prime minister doesn't respond, then gau rakshaks should tweet to him.
"He is very active on Twitter and will respond immediately," said the VHP leader.
To pass a national declaration against butchering, cow trafficking, beef business and cow progeny, Togadia requested the prime minister to call for a special Parliament session and said, "We have numbers in Lok Sabha and if the consensus is made, we can pass it in Rajya Sabha."
Threats and ire
During his long interaction with the media, a fuming Togadia asked for a complete ban on beef exports and reminded the prime minister that he had, during his election campaign, assured the nation for such a ban. Citing data, he said, beef exports have seen a 44% increase in the last four years.
Issuing veiled threats, Togadia said, "I am not asking Hindus to take law into their own hands but am asking the prime minister to find a legal way out so that we can come to know when there will be a law to stop the slaughter."
However, he evaded questions about his future course of action if the prime minister does n otaccept his demands. "He is my childhood friend and I am certain that he will withdraw his speech."
Edited by Jhinuk Sen
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