MP: Congress won't ban Bajrang Dal if elected to power, Digvijaya Singh

Bhopal: Congress veteran and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said his party, if it gets elected to power, will not ban Bajrang Dal, but "goons" and rioters will not be spared.

Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, currently ruled by the BJP, are due this year-end.

Singh also defended Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath over the latter's comments on “Hindu Rashtra”.

Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad. The VHP has disassociated itself from cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi arrested in connection with communal clashes in Haryana's Nuh district.

Talking to reporters in Bhopal, Digvijaya Singh said, "Bajrang Dal is a group of goons and anti-social elements... This country belongs to all, so Modi ji (PM Narendra Modi) and Shivraj ji (MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) stop dividing the country. Establish peace in the country which will lead to development."

Asked whether the Congress will ban Bajrang Dal if the party gets elected to power, the Rajya Sabha member said, “We will not ban. There may be some good people in Bajrang Dal. But, those who are goons and involved in rioting will not be spared.”

To a query on Kamal Nath's remarks on "Hindu Rashtra", Singh said, “You people have misrepresented Nath's statement. He never said what you people and the BJP are saying. I want to ask the BJP, PM, Home Minister, CM whether they have taken oath of the Constitution or of Hindu Rashtra?”

On August 8, some reporters sought Nath's comment on spiritual preacher Dhirendra Shastri's purported demand to make India a Hindu Rashtra.

Nath had said, “World's largest Hindu population lives in our country. 82 per cent of Hindus reside here. It is not a debatable issue. It is not something to be told. These are statistics…What is the need to say it separately?”

Digvijaya Singh also accused the BJP regime in the state of rampant corruption while citing the case of collapse of some statues at the Mahakal Lok in Ujjain due to strong winds in May this year.