Vishwa Hindu Parishad set to begin membership drive in Mumbai

Vishwa Hindu Parishad secretary general Milind Parande took centre stage at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in Azad Maidan on Thursday to announce a VHP membership drive that will begin on November 6 and go on till November 20.

Dubbed Hit Chintak Abhiyan, the drive, Parande said, "is aimed at creating a one-crore membership base across the country. These members will first of all become aware of the Hindu faith, its values and culture. We will caution people about Love Jihad and fraudulent conversions. We are also going to raise awareness that there is an anti-conversion law in some states. In any case, conversion through fraudulent means, allurement or force is unconstitutional. We are planning to go to at least 13,000 villages in Maharashtra. The membership drive will include prominent people, from business leaders, doctors, lawyers, to teachers. The point is to become part of a movement where the cornerstone is unity and strength."

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Shriraj Nair, secretary, said, "VHP workers will conduct a door-to-door membership drive in Mumbai." Nair, whose focus is Mumbai, said, "There are some who think Mumbaikars may hesitate to welcome us. Yet, we take heart from the success of earlier drives where money was raised for the Ayodhya temple. People welcomed us at that time."

History speaks

Parande also pointed out that those belonging to Scheduled Castes have historically been deprived on the basis of their caste, while the Abrahamic religions claim to have no caste distinction among them. "So, SC reservation cannot be extended to them." Parande said this was self-contradictory that "Christian missionaries and Muslim leadership claim social equality in their religions, but, in the same breath, demand for reservation."

Parande stated, "In 1950, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order was issued making it clear that only Hindu Scheduled Castes would get reservation. Despite this, Christian missionaries and Islamic organisations have been making constant demands to extend this facility to converted SCs. If this is allowed, then it is snatching the Constitutional rights of SCs." He added, "Converted Scheduled Tribes (ST) should also not be allowed to continue the rights of reservation guaranteed under the law to STs."

During the question round, Parande responded to a question about uniform civil code (UCC) saying, "I am for UCC, which means one country, one citizenry
and one law." He also termed as ‘selfish' those against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and congratulated the government for bringing in the legislation.