By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A senior leader of the Bajrang Dal has ridiculed Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s statement that it was a fundamentalist organisation.
“We don’t need a certificate from Naveen Patnaik,” Subash Chouhan, a national coordinator of the Bajrang Dal, told IANS.
“Lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of Bajrang Dal activists are doing selfless service for the country. only people are our judge. We don’t need a certificate from leaders like Patnaik or (central minister) Ram Vilas Paswan,” he said.
He was reacting to Patnaik’ remarks in an interview with TV channel NDTV 24×7. “My party believes the Bajrang Dal is a fundamentalist group,” the chief minister said.
“Many of those arrested in Orissa for anti-Christian violence are from the Bajrang Dal,” Patnaik had said.
However, Chauhan, who belongs to Orissa, said none of the people arrested in Kandhamal district are members of the Bajrang Dal.
Christians and their places of worship in Kandhamal district have been facing mob attacks since Aug 23, when a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and four of his aides were killed.
Maoists have claimed responsibility for the murder, but many Hindu groups hold Christians responsible for it. The Christians accused Hindu groups such as Bajrang Dal and VHP for carrying out attack on Christians.
The Hindu groups however denied the allegation.