According to a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) official quoted by a news agency on Saturday, the Bajrang Dal is unafraid of the Congress' threat of a ban in Karnataka. In its Karnataka manifesto, the Congress promised to oust the BJP from power on May 13 and pledged to do it by outlawing groups like the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI).
Milind Parande, general secretary of the VHP, told reporters in Indore, "Necessary steps will be done if they ban the Bajrang Dal out of their enmity for the Hindus.
He claimed that the Bajrang Dal was outlawed during the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign, but the court overturned the ban because it was unjust.
After the party stated in its manifesto that it was committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organizations spreading hatred among communities on the basis of caste or religion and cited the examples of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Bajrang Dal, this pledge by the Congress sparked a significant controversy during the campaign for the Karnataka elections.
Veerappa Moily, a seasoned Congressman and a former chief minister of Karnataka, later emphasized that there had never been a plan to outlaw the Bajrang Dal and that the Congress' sole goal is to "stop hate politics."
"A state government cannot impose a ban on a particular group. The Karnataka government cannot impose a ban on the Bajrang Dal... We don't have any plans to outlaw the Bajrang Dal. As a leader, I can tell you this," Moily had added.
