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VHP sees no BJP attempt at appeasement: PTI

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad Saturday said it saw no attempt to appease minorities in Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman's call to the party to reach out to Muslims and rework its relationship with them.

''Being a political party, the BJP has to take care of all sections of society, regardless of religion, caste or creed and this does not amount to appeasing minorities, like other pseudo-secular parties,'' VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia told reporters in Chennai.

He also saw no reason to worry about Laxman's assertion that the Ayodhya issue would not be taken up by the BJP at present. ''In a democracy, people will decide which issue should be taken up and when. It will become a mass issue as soon as the sants decide on the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya,'' Togadia said.

He charged the central and state governments with making India a 'soft state' as they were bowing to demands of terrorists and criminals, leading to such elements being emboldened to indulge in nefarious activities.

He demanded that 'jihadi' outfits be put down with an iron hand, as fundamentalist violence was no longer confined to Kashmir and was threatening to engulf the country.

Togadia alleged that the recent killing of a temple priest by insurgents in Tripura was an instance of 'church-backed' extremism.

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