'Shobha Yatra' Will Be Taken Out In Mewat On August 28, No Need For Govt Nod: VHP

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said a "shobha yatra" would be taken out in the Haryana's Mewat area on August 28 and asserted that administration's nod is not needed for such religious events

New Delhi: Weeks after its procession came under attack and was stopped in Haryana's Nuh, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday said a "shobha yatra" would be taken out in the area on August 28 and asserted there was no need to obtain permission from the administration for such religious events. The organisation, however, said it would inform the administration about the procession and was open to discussion on its form and size as "we do not want to cast a shadow on a G20 event", scheduled in Nuh in the first week of September.

The Haryana government on Saturday ordered the suspension of mobile Internet and bulk SMS services in Nuh district till August 28 in view of the call for the procession. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, were killed in the communal clashes that erupted in Nuh and its adjoining areas when the VHP procession was attacked by a mob on July 31.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said the yatra would be taken out by the Sarva Hindu Samaj of Mewat, not the VHP.

"Sarva Hindu Samaj has decided to take out and complete the yatra.... We also do not want to cast a shadow on G20 event in any way. We are ready to discuss with the administration about the size and form of the yatra to be taken out on August 28,” he said.

He also appealed to people of other areas of Haryana to take out similar yatras in their respective localities and not join the one in Mewat. "We have given a call to people to ensure that no one from outside Mewat come and join the yatra there on August 28," he said.

VHP working president Alok Kumar will join the yatra along with others from the organisation, he said.

Swami Jitendranand Saraswati, who is the president of Sant Samiti, and other "revered" sants and seers will lead the yatra, he added.

"A decision has been taken that Sarva Hindu Samaj of Mewat will take out Jalabhishek Yatra on August 28 as scheduled. There is no need to obtain a prior permission of administration for taking out such a religious yatra,” Jain told reporters here.

"Does anybody take permission for Kanwar Yatra or Muharram procession....administration is only informed about such events. Accordingly, the administration will just be informed about the Jalabhishek Yatra,” her added.

The Nuh authorities had recently denied permission to hold the religious procession on August 28.

Jain hoped that the yatra will remain “peaceful", claiming that Muslims of the area have offered to cooperate.

Addressing the press conference, khap panchayat leader Arun Jeldar claimed that leaders of both Hindu and Muslim communities met on August 18 to discuss the matter and offered their cooperation in completing the yatra peacefully.

"At the meeting, they also said that what happened the other day should not have happened. They also said such things should never happen and offered their cooperation in taking out a peaceful yatra. They even offered to shower flower on the yatra route," Jeldar told reporters.

In view of the yatra call, Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur presided over a meeting with senior officers of bordering states through video-conferencing on Saturday and called for a coordinated effort to effectively deal with the situation.

In the meeting, attended by senior police officers of Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Kapur said the administration has denied permission for the yatra due to a meeting of the G20 Sherpa Group, scheduled to be held in Nuh during September 3-7, and to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the July 31 violence.