Varun Gandhi being targeted: Hindu Mahasabha

Lucknow, Mar 21 (ANI): The Hindu Mahasabha on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi was being targeted as he was speaking for the cause of 'Hindutva'.

"There is nothing wrong in his speech. He is being targeted for speaking for the cause of Hindutva," said Mahant Narayan Giri, President, All India Hindu Mahasabha.

Giri declared that the Mahasabha would not field any candidate against him in the general elections.

"We will not field any candidate against Varun Gandhi. We will also not field any candidate against the BJP nominees who speak for the cause of Hindutva," he added.

On March 17, the Election Commission filed a criminal case under non-bailable law against Varun Gandhi for his inflammatory speech against Muslims in Pilibhit.

On March 6, at an election meeting in his constituency Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi had said, "All Hindus should remain on one side and send the rest to Pakistan."

"They have names such as Karimullah, Mazurullah. If you see them in the night you would get scared," he added.

Gandhi, however, strongly denied having made any communal or divisive statements and said it was an attempt to malign his image.

"I strongly refute the charge of making any communal or divisive statements as part of my election campaign. In this climate of terrorism, I have spoken only about standing firm against anti-national and anti-social forces that threaten this nation," Gandhi said.

Giri criticized the BJP for its deviation from the issues related to Hindutva.

"The saffron party has now deviated from the issues related to Hindutva. There is no difference between it and any other political party now. This is also a reason for the slide in popularity of the BJP," he added. (ANI)