LUCKNOW: The brutal killing of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and a pharmacist in Amravati for backing suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma led the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday to announce helpline number belonging to Bajrang Dal workers for 20 regions across the country, including five from UP, to protect the Hindu community from, what it called, “jihadi elements”.
There has been a country wide outrage over the controversial statement of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over Prophet Mohammad.
The five regions of UP for which a helpline numbers were issued included Meerut (8218329105), Kanpur (9936855898), Kashi (9198942004), Goraksh (9511178248) and Awadh (9473795999). Among other states for which the helpline numbers were issued are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Delhi, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
As per the highly-placed VHP sources, the Bajrang Dal workers would extend help to the Hindu community in case of any trouble without flouting democratic guidelines and the law of the land. A senior VHP functionary claimed that Bajrang Dal cadre were cautioned against brandishing any weapon in public so as to avoid any conflagration.
The VHP sources claimed that the Bajrang Dal workers would contact the district authorities concerned to stem any possible communal flare-up. The VHP sources said that the strength of Bajrang Dal workers would vary from region to region.
The VHP had switched over to an aggressive stance after Kanhaiya Lal’s murder in Udaipur exhorting its youth wing, Bajrang Dal cadre to hold countrywide protests against the incident.