The violence that broke out during the Vishva Hindu Parishad rally in Haryana’s Nuh was a “100 per cent intelligence failure,” as the police did not apprise the organisers about the potential threat of riots and communal tensions before the procession, VHP Joint General Secretary Surender Jain told CNN-News18 on Wednesday.
Six people, including two home guards, have died in the communal violence which first erupted in Nuh after a mob tried to stop a rally led by VHP and Bajrang Dal on July 31 by pelting stones and setting cars on fire. The violence soon spread to Palwal, Faridabad and Gurugram leading to curfew and internet shutdowns. A total of 116 people have been arrested, while 90 others have been detained according to the Haryana government.
Jain said the VHP had been in touch with the police prior to the event. “We were in touch with the police and this was not known to us… it’s a 100 per cent intelligence failure,” he said.
The VHP leader said the Superintendent of Police, who was present at the event, failed to inform them, and the rally would likely have been cancelled if they had known about the potential threat. “The Superintendent of Police never alerted us that there were chances of this kind of incident. Otherwise, we could have canceled the rally,” he said.
Jain asserted that the attacks were executed against Hindu devotees in a “pre-planned manner,” and the attackers were “incited” by certain leaders. “They were prepared and unfortunately some politicians are playing dirty politics,” he said.
He referred to the Supreme Court order earlier in the day, which directed the Centre for enhanced deployment of security personnel in sensitive areas and a crackdown on hate speech in view of proposed rallies by VHP and Bajrang Dal in Delhi NCR. While the apex court refused a blanket ban on the the outfit’s planned protests and rallies, Jain said the allegations of hate speeches were untrue. “Allegations of hate speeches are not true. Not even a single word was spoken against anyone,” he said.
VHP’s ‘Peaceful Protests’
VHP working president Alok Kumar on Wednesday said that demonstrations were held “successfully” across all districts in the country, with the participation of “lakhs of people.”
“The VHP and the Bajrang Dal had called for demonstrations in every district of the country today against the violent attacks… on peaceful pilgrims in Haryana’s Nuh… These demonstrations were held successfully with the participation of lakhs of people at hundreds of places across the country,” the VHP said in a statement.
Demonstrations were also held in various parts of Delhi under tight security. Protesters carried saffron flags and chanted slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Har Har Mahadev’, and ‘Vande Mataram’, staging a sit-in at the Badarpur border, which blocked the road and disrupted traffic from Faridabad to Delhi. The Delhi Police increased security measures in the city and employed drones to monitor the protests.
In addition, the VHP held a demonstration in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, violating prohibitory orders, and demanded financial aid for the families of two Bajrang Dal members who they claimed died in Monday’s clash.
(With PTI inputs)
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