India can't tackle terror with mere talks: Praveen Togadia

Ahmedabad: India cannot tackle terrorism through mere talks with Pakistan, VHP's international president Pravin Togadia said on Monday, asserting that if extremists managed to enter the highly fortified air base in Pathankot, creating havoc among common people was like a walk in the park for them.

"It is a well-known fact that terrorists come from Pakistan and we must find an appropriate solution to this problem. We can achieve nothing by holding talks. If we want to stop terrorism in the country, we must address the root cause of the problem," Togadia said at a meeting of Vishwa Hindu Parishad state workers in Gandhinagar.

Togadia's statement comes after a section in the Narendra Modi government favoured continuation of talks with Pakistan despite the Pathankot attack.

"The lords of terrorists like Dawood (Ibrahim), (Zaki-ur-Rehman) Lakhvi and Hafiz Saeed keep sending hordes of terrorists to India. If the government is serious about curbing terror, all these men must be brought to Delhi and hanged in public," he said.

Togadia said he has full faith that the Modi government was capable of achieving the objective.

"We trust Narendra bhai. Whether he drinks tea with Sharif or presents sari is not our concern. First, we must make our point clear then he can do whatever he wants," Togadia said in a reference to Modi's personal rapport with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

Togadia also referred to the ongoing Patel reservation agitation in Gujarat, saying that if a solution was not found, it could herald a "caste revolution" in the state.