Bhubaneswar: The district administration of
Kandhamal, which has been violence-free for about a year,
today decided not to allow VHP leader Pravin Togadia to visit
it.
"We will not allow VHP leader Pravin Togadia to visit
Kandhamal as the administration does not want to take any risk
though things are in good shape," district
Magistrate-cum-Collector Krishna Kumar said over phone.
"The situation is absolutely normal in the district now,"
he said.
The state unit of VHP had earlier informed the home
department regarding Togadia's proposed three-day visit
to Orissa.
Togadia is scheduled to begin his visit from March 18 and
visit Kandhamal the next day and spend the night at Phulbani,
the district headquarter of Kandhamal, VHP state secretary
Gouri Prasad Rath said.
"It is illegal as well as undemocratic to put restriction
on visit of Togadia," he said reacting to the Kandhamal
district administration's decision.
The state government and Kandhamal district authorities
had "spread the red carpet" to diplomats from European
countries and it is "unfortunate" that they will not allow
Togadia, Rath said.
Togadia was allowed to visit Chakapada ashram in
Kandhamal and pay respects to the slain VHP leader Swami
Laxamananda Saraswati on August 25, 2008.
Saraswati, whose killing sparked a large scale
ethno-communal violence in Kandhamal and elsewhere in the
state, was killed on August 23, 2008.
"Togadia's visit immediately after Saraswati's killing
escalated violence in Kandhamal. Therefore, it is not wise to
allow him again, particularly when the situation has turned
normal," police said.
Besides, Kandhamal, Togadia was scheduled to visit
Nuapada, Bargarh and Ganjam district.
Bargarh district also witnessed communal violence after
Saraswati's killing. A woman was burnt alive at an orphanage
in Bargarh district.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 18:57