Nagpur: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal on Sunday accused Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray of lacking courage and said Hindi can never be banished by anyone.
Commenting on Thackeray's claim that it were Shiv Sainiks who demolished the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in December 1992, the VHP leader told reporters here that Thackeray never went to Ayodhya. "He has no courage."
When pointed out that a recent editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana had claimed that VHP leaders sat with their hands crossed when the Babri mosque was being brought down, Singhal exploded.
"Balasaheb Thackeray never went to Ayodhya, he does not have that courage. But Manohar Joshi had come and introduced himself as 'a kar sevak bhai'," Singhal said.
He added that about 400,000 people "accomplished the task of demolishing the Babri Masjid" and refuted Thackeray's claim that Shiv Sainiks did it.
Punish Raj for anti-Hindi stance
On the assault on Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi in the Maharashtra Assembly when he took oath in Hindi, the VHP leader said Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray had "gone wayward and strayed from his path".
Singhal added that nobody in the country would be able to remove Hindi. iding the country.
"It is vote bank politics and Raj Thackeray will not succeed in dividing the country in the name of opposition to Hindi language. Those humiliating the 'lingua franca' in Maharashtra should be punished," VHP international president Ashok Singhal said at a press conference here on Sunday.
Humiliating Hindi is an open treason and such treacherous persons should be given the hardest punishment, Singhal demanded referring to the incident in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly where the newly elected members of the MNS disrupted oath-taking in Hindi.
He said Raj has not only insulted Hindi but 'Rashtrabhasha' which cannot be tolerated. He has a small identity and trying to create hatred among the people, Singhal added.
Singhal who aired his views on different subjects was furious on the Deoband resolution banning singing of Vande Mataram which he charged was passed in the presence of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
"The people of the country do not want a Home Minister in whose presence Jamiat-E-Ulema moved a resolution not to sing Vande Mataram', Singhal said.
Singhal said China was waging a proxy war against India by providing firearms to Maoists who are indulging in violence in the country. He felt that government should not hesitate using Army and Air Force against these anti-national forces.
This is high time government crush the naxal movement. By not taking stern action, government was actually encouraging them, Singhal observed.
Meanwhile, Singhal also demanded making public the assets of Trimala Tirupati Deosthan.
"The public wants to know what are the assets of the Balaji temple and what is the worth of the real state, jewellery held by the Tirupati Deosthan and whether it has been properly recorded, he demanded.
IANS/PTI