A day after Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar ruled out banning Goa-based right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, which has come under the scanner for the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, BJP MLA in the state has sought a ban on the hindu outfit.
A day after Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar ruled out banning Goa-based right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, which has come under the scanner for the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, a BJP MLA in the state has sought a ban on the Hindu outfit.
Speaking to a leading tabloid over the phone, Vishnu Surya Wagh said that when the government can prohibit groups like Sri Rama Sene and SIMI, same should be done with Sanatan Sanstha.
Wagh also said that he is going to discuss this issue within the party and a strong stand against such radical organisations should be taken.
Wagh has contradicted Parsekar's remark raising questions over the dissent among party leaders.
Earlier Parsekar had told reporters, "Whatever is wrong is wrong. Just because there is suspicion on one person we cannot blame the organisation (Sanatan Sanstha) which he is associated with. It would not be right to ban the entire organisation."
Senior minister Dipak Dhavalikar had also defended it claiming the organisation worked for spirituality and propagation of Hinduism. "Just because one of the seekers is arrested in a murder case, why is there a demand to ban the entire organisation? Sanatan Sanstha works for spirituality and propagation of Hindu religion," said Dhavalikar.
Meanwhile, Goa Congress on Wednesday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a ban on the right-wing outfit. In the letter, which is also addressed to the Union Home Minister and the Goa Chief Minister, Congress General Secretary Sunil Kawthankar said that if the government did not ban the activities of Sanstha, it would prove that it is shielding and nurturing a terror organisation.
"It is high time the governments-- the Centre and the state--- declare Sanatan Sanstha a terror organisation by denouncing all their activities and imposing a complete ban on all its operations across the country," the letter reads. Sanatan activist Samir Gaikwad was arrested on September 16 from Sangli in Maharashtra in connection with Pansare's murder, following which Congress and the NCP had demanded an immediate ban on the hardline outfit.
82-year-old Pansare and his wife, Uma were shot at by two youths on February 16, 2015, near their home in Kolhapur. Pansare died four days later at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai while his wife survived the attack, suffering injuries that crippled her.
With agency inputs
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 "Goa BJP MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh seeks ban on Sanatan Sanstha")
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